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A number of major international airports across the US, such as Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Harry Reid International, Seattle-Tacoma International, and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, have opted to prevent a public service announcement from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that faults Democratic lawmakers for the ongoing federal government shutdown from being shown at their security checkpoints.

Legal Issues Cited by Aviation Officials

Airport authorities in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester, New York have refused to display the video content at security checkpoints, stating that the overtly political messaging could breach state and federal law, including the Hatch Act of 1939, which bars government workers from participating in partisan actions.

“Democrats in Congress decline to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our Transportation Security Administration employees are working without pay,” the Secretary stated in the video.

Portland Response

The Portland airport authority clarified that it “would not agree to airing the PSA in its present version, as we consider the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes.” The port further stated that state regulations in Oregon prohibits government staff from supporting or criticizing any party affiliation and that consenting to play this video would violate Oregon law.

Las Vegas Position

The Harry Reid airport also declined to display the TSA video on similar grounds, saying in a statement that “its content contained political messaging that was inconsistent with the impartial, informational purpose of the public service announcements typically shown at checkpoint screens” and also cited the federal act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act is a federal law that bans political activities by government employees to guarantee that public services remain unbiased.

Further Authority Responses

• Phoenix airport international airport stated that it “declined to post the PSA” to stay “in line with airport policy,” which does not allow political content.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac airport, also declined, citing “the partisan tone of the video.”
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport clarified that North Carolina municipal law and the airport's rules for screen content “do not permit the referenced video.” The authority also added that the TSA lacks ownership of any monitors at its security areas and that its limited digital screens are reserved for wayfinding, travel information, and revenue-generating services.

Westchester County Criticism

The county, in a public comment, called the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the standards we anticipate from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The PSA politicizes the impacts of a government closure on TSA operations,” the county leader stated, adding that the tone was “overly alarming” and “undermines customer confidence.”

DHS Response

A Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, an agency representative, echoed Noem’s wording to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a response, adding that “Democratic leaders will shortly realize the significance of opening the government.”

Bipartisan Calls for Resolution

The Seattle authority said that it continued to “encourage cooperative actions to end the federal closure” and was striving to find ways to support government workers working without pay during the closure.