By Steve Neavling
Airports in several U.S. cities have declined to play a video message from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem that blames congressional Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, citing concerns that it violates rules against political messaging, The Washington Post reports.
Officials overseeing airports in Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, said airing the video could breach internal policies or run afoul of laws prohibiting the use of public resources for partisan purposes.
“We believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes and messaging,” said Molly Prescott, spokesperson for the Port of Portland, which operates Portland International Airport. She noted it was the first time the agency had declined to show such a video.
The Hatch Act bars federal employees from engaging in political activity while on the job, and Oregon law also forbids public workers from promoting or opposing political parties during work hours.
Westchester County, New York, also refused to show the message. County Executive Ken Jenkins called it “inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials” and “unnecessarily alarmist.”
In the video, Noem tells travelers that “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government,” warning that operations could be affected. She adds, “Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”
Experts said such messaging is unusual.
“I’ve been around this business a long, long time,” said Rob Britton, a former American Airlines executive and Georgetown University professor.
A DHS spokesperson reiterated Noem’s message in a statement, saying that while the shutdown “creates challenges,” airport security operations remain “largely unimpacted at this time.”
