Kristi Noem struck a nerve with her video explaining the government shutdown’s impact on travel as a growing number of airports refuse to air the “unnecessarily alarmist” and “partisan messaging.”
Without an end in sight, agencies across the federal government have taken measures to address the government shutdown, including layoffs and redirection of available funds. However, as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem endeavored to keep travelers apprised of what was happening with the Transportation Security Administration, some airports refused to allow a message blaming congressional Democrats to air.
At the time of this posting, airports in Arizona, Colorado, New York, Oregon, and Washington have all detailed their refusal to play Noem’s message, with some going as far as to suggest the partisan blame may be a violation of the Hatch Act.
“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,” said the secretary as the shutdown carried on for two weeks. “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.”
Currently playing at every public airport in America:@Sec_Noem: “We will continue to do all that we can to avoid delays that will impact you — and it is our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.” pic.twitter.com/hwVfwLxVJR
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 10, 2025
In a statement to the Seattle Times, a spokesperson for the Port of Seattle explained the reasoning behind the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s refusal to air the video, as Spokane International Airport also refused.
“The Port of Seattle will not play the video on its screens at SEA Airport, due to the political nature of the content,” stated the spokesperson. “We continue to urge bipartisan efforts to end the government shutdown and are working to find ways to support federal employees working without pay at SEA during the shutdown.”
Similarly, as Portland International Airport in Oregon opted out, Port of Portland spokesperson Kara Hansen told KATU, “We didn’t consent to playing it, as we believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits using public assets for political purposes and messaging.”
An overview of the Hatch Act explains its purpose is to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation.”
“Additionally,” Hansen went on, “Oregon law states that no public employee can promote or oppose any political committee, party, or affiliation. We believe consenting to playing this video on Port assets would violate Oregon law.”
However, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington senior ethics counsel Cynthia Brown contended to Forbes, “This is probably not a Hatch Act violation, because it’s not tied to an election. But it’s entirely inappropriate to be using federal resources to message on a partisan basis and disparage the opposing political party.”
In New York, Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins described the video as, “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials,” and went on to call the tone “unnecessarily alarmist” while claiming the message “distracts from the real issues, and undermines public trust” as Westchester County Airport stood against playing the video.
Likewise, a spokesperson for Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which operates both the Buffalo Niagara Airport and Niagara Falls International Airport, told WGRZ, “The NFTA’s long-standing policy codified regulations pertaining to public service advertising prohibit partisan messaging in its facilities. Therefore, we are not airing the video on airport-controlled screens.”
Other airports that have placed themselves in opposition to the video include Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Tucson International Airport, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, as well as Colorado’s Denver International Airport and Colorado Springs Airport.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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