As the federal government grinds through yet another shutdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has managed to spark a fresh controversy – this time not over policy, but over propaganda.
In recent days, Noem directed airports across the country to play a video message blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. The video was intended to air at TSA checkpoints, where thousands of travelers would see the Secretary claiming that Democrats’ refusal to “fund the federal government” had forced Transportation Security Administration employees to work without pay.
Top Three Takeaways from the Article:
Airports push back on partisan messaging: At least 15 major U.S. airports have refused to play Kristi Noem’s DHS shutdown video, citing concerns that it violates the Hatch Act and airport policies against political content.
Hatch Act concerns dominate the response: The 1939 law prohibits executive branch officials from engaging in partisan political activity, and multiple airports referenced this in their decisions to reject the video.
Republican politics over governance: The controversy highlights the growing willingness of Republican officials to use government platforms for political messaging, even at the risk of breaking laws meant to preserve nonpartisan governance.
But the plan quickly backfired. Dozens of airports refused to show the video, calling it what it plainly was: a partisan political message that likely violates federal law.
“It is TSA’s top priority to make sure you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience possible,” Noem says in the video. “However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted.”
It’s not unusual for the Department of Homeland Security to produce informational videos for airports during shutdowns or emergencies. What is unusual is for one to explicitly attack a political party – a move that legal experts and airport authorities say crosses a bright ethical and legal line.
The Hatch Act Problem
The primary issue, officials say, is the Hatch Act, a 1939 law prohibiting members of the executive branch (excluding the president and vice president) from using their government positions to engage in political activity.
According to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the Hatch Act was designed to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion” and to “protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace.”
In other words, Homeland Security shouldn’t be using government-funded media time to campaign for one party or blame another.
Airports, both large and small, have refused to participate. A spokesperson for Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas said the facility “declined” to air the video because of its “political messaging that did not align with the neutral, informational nature” of typical public service announcements.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports, also rejected the request, citing a long-standing policy that forbids politically partisan messages in its facilities.
Meanwhile, the Port of Portland, operator of Portland International Airport, was even more blunt:
“We did not consent to playing the video in its current form, as we believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes and messaging.”
In Westchester County, New York, County Executive Ken Jenkins echoed those concerns, saying the video “politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown” and called its tone “alarmist and inappropriate.”
DHS Doubles Down
Despite the pushback, the Department of Homeland Security defended the message, releasing a statement that blamed “political gamesmanship” in Congress for the shutdown and expressed “hope that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”
That response did little to quell concerns that the department is being used for partisan messaging – or to repair the optics of what looks like a taxpayer-funded attack ad being forced onto airport screens.
At least 15 airports across the country have confirmed they will not show the video, including:
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International, Bradley International, Buffalo Niagara, Charlotte Douglas, JFK, Harry Reid, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, New York Stewart, Philadelphia International, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Portland International, Seattle–Tacoma, Springfield–Branson National, and Westchester County Airport.
In an era when public institutions are often pressured to bend to political will, the coordinated refusal is a rare show of institutional backbone.
Noem’s video may be just one small incident in a long string of partisan theatrics surrounding the shutdown, but it underscores a deeper issue: the erosion of nonpartisanship in federal operations. When the nation’s top security agency is producing political attack ads for airport terminals, the boundaries between governance and campaigning are being dangerously blurred.
For now, airport screens will remain focused on what they were meant for – travel updates and safety reminders – while Noem’s message, grounded more in politics than public service, is staying firmly on the runway.