Airports Pass on Video of Noem Blaming Delays on Democrats

Airports serving several major US cities have declined to run a video in their terminals in which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blames congressional Democrats for the government shutdown and resulting travel disruptions. Local officials cited internal policies and laws including the federal Hatch Act and state regulations that prohibit the use of public resources for political messaging as reasons for their decision, the Washington Post reports. Airports taking a pass include those serving Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon.

"It is TSA's top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience as possible. However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted," Noem says in the video. "We will continue to do all that we can to avoid delays that will impact your travel. And our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government." In Portland, Molly Prescott said officials consider the "use of public assets for political purposes and messaging" to be a violation of the Hatch Act.

It's not clear if any airports plan to run the video, per CNN. In New York, Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins called it "inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation's top public officials." Typically, airports do broadcast messages from the Homeland Security secretary at TSA checkpoints, per the Post, but these are usually limited to topics like safety procedures or identification requirements. Industry experts noted that the partisan tone of the video could create complications for publicly funded airports concerned about legal compliance and federal relationships.