Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Some airports around the United States refused to play a video with a message from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in which she blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown and its impacts on Transportation Security Administration operations, because of its political content.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks Oct. 8 during a roundtable meeting with President Donald Trump on antifa in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington.
Airports in Las Vegas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle and more say the video goes against their airport policy or regulations that prohibit political messaging in their facilities.
Various government agencies, in emails to workers and on websites, adopted language that blames Democrats for the shutdown, with some experts arguing that could be in violation of the 1939 Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities by federal employees.
The shutdown halted routine operations and left airports scrambling with flight disruptions. Democrats say any deal to reopen the government has to address their health care demands, and Republicans say they won't negotiate until Democrats agree to fund the government. Insurance premiums would double if Congress fails to renew the subsidy payments that expire Dec. 31.
People are also reading…
In the video, Noem says TSA's "top priority" is to help make travel pleasant and efficient while keeping passengers safe. "However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay," she said.
Transportation Security Administration employees leave a security checkpoint during a shift change Oct. 2 at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore.
The TSA falls under the Department of Homeland Security. About 61,000 of the agency's 64,130 employees are required to work during the shutdown. The Department said Friday that the video is being rolled out to airports across the U.S.
A DHS spokeswoman responded to a request for comment restating some of the message from Noem's video.
"It's unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship. Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government," spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport said it will not play a new video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas said it had to "remain mindful of the Hatch Act's restrictions."
"Per airport regulations, the terminals and surrounding areas are not designated public forums, and the airport's intent is to avoid the use of the facility for political or religious advocacy," the statement said.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said the county north of New York City won't play the video at its airport. He called the video "inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation's top public officials," and said its tone is "unnecessarily alarmist" as it relates to operations at the county airport.
"At a time when we should be focused on ensuring stability, collaboration and preparedness, this type of messaging only distracts from the real issues, and undermines public trust," he said.
Even in red states, airports wouldn't show the video for various reasons. Salt Lake City International Airport didn't play the video because state law prohibits using city-owned property for political purposes, airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer said.
The airport in Billings, Montana, "politely declined" to show the video, assistant aviation director Paul Khera said Tuesday.
"We don't want to get in the middle of partisan politics," Khera said. "We like to stay middle of the road, we didn't want to play that video."
What photos show about the U.S. government shutdown
Stairs lead to the Capitol Visitors Center with just days to go before federal money runs out with the end of the fiscal year, in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., center, flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., left, and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., arrives to speak on the steps of the Capitol to insist that Republicans include an extension of expiring health care benefits as part of a government funding compromise, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The sun sets behind the Capitol and Washington Monument, as a vote fails in the Senate which is expected to lead to a government shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, as seen from inside the Capitol, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Visitors tour the Capitol Rotunda as the government lurches toward a shutdown at midnight if the Senate does not pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, as the U.S. government is on the brink of the first federal government shutdown in almost seven years.. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., listens as he speaks to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Kaitlin and Kurt Wilhelm, of Sandusky, Ohio, foreground, and others gather on the rocky coast to watch the sunrise, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Acadia National Park, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A visitor walks at the Lincoln Memorial at sunrise on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
American flags fly in front of the U.S. Capitol at sunrise, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunrise as cars drive on Pennsylvania Ave. during rush hour traffic, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Tourist view Independence Hall from outside a barricade in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., gives a tour of the Capitol to a group of students from New York after their previously-scheduled tour was canceled due to the government shutdown on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the Senate GOP whip, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., right, arrive for a news conference with top Republicans on the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A sign alerting visitors that the Royal Palm Visitor Center is closed hangs in a display case reflecting the landscape, inside Florida's Everglades National Park, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A sign announces that the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People take photos with a sign announcing that the Library of Congress is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People look through fence to get a glance at the Statue of Liberty in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A tourist stops to read the sign announcing that the Washington Monument is closed on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, inWashington.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Christy Lock and Curt Rohrman, from Houston get a phone call informing them their tickets for a tram ride to the top of Gateway Arch are cancelled due to the federal government shutdown and that they will be receiving a refund on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
National Park Service law enforcement ranger Greg Freeman opens a locked gate closing vehicle access to the Shark Valley section of Florida's Everglades National Park, as he drives into the park, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People look at the Golden Gate Bridge outside the Fort Point National Historic Site, which is closed due to a government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of N.Y., walks to a press conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Layne Morrison, left, of Washington, and Courtney Creek, of Silver Spring, Md., who were let go from their jobs with the Education Department and a USAID funded grant respectively, hold signs about the looming government shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a rally with former federal employees. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
