Several California airports have refused to play a video in which U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blames Democrats for delays due to the federal government shutdown.
The video, which plays for travelers waiting in Transportation Security Administration security lines at airports across the country, comes as the government entered a third week of shutdown after Congress failed to reach an agreement on funding legislation.
“TSA's top priority is to ensure you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience possible while keeping you safe,” Noem says in the video. “However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government and because of this many of our operations are affected, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.”
Officials at several California airports say they are not playing the video at their locations. They include: John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Hollywood Burbank Airport, San Diego International Airport, San Jose Mineta International Airport, Sacramento International Airport, Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
Officials at Los Angeles International Airport responded to questions about whether the video was playing there.
Some airport officials have refused to play the video, calling it inappropriate. On Tuesday, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee called for Noem to be investigated for possibly violating the Hatch Act by asking airports to play the video.
“Recent reports indicate that DHS is using taxpayer dollars and federal assets to produce and broadcast a video message featuring Secretary Noem, in her official capacity, launching political attacks against Democratic members of Congress,” Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) wrote in a letter to the Office of Special Counsel and reviewed by The Times. “This message is not only false; it appears to violate the prohibitions contained in the Hatch Act.”
The law, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, is intended to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan manner,” as well as protect federal employees from political coercion on the job.
Noem's video was received at airports on Thursday and was followed by a verbal request from DHS officials to play it at security checkpoints, several airport officials told the Times.
The reasons the video is not shown to California travelers vary.
In Orange County, airport spokeswoman AnnaSophia Servin said Homeland Security asked the airport director to play the video, but a final decision has not yet been made. In Burbank, political messages are prohibited, officials said. In San Jose, an airport spokesperson said there have been no impacts from the closure and therefore there is no reason to play the video.
At San Francisco International Airport, officials determined the video was not helpful.
“SFO limits messages at our security checkpoints to information intended to help passengers be prepared to go through the security screening process,” a spokesperson said in an email. “No content, whether video or print, that does not meet this standard will be displayed.”
When The Times asked Homeland Security officials to respond to airports not playing Noem's video, spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin responded with Noem's video statement blaming Democrats.
But California airports aren't the only places choosing not to play Noem's message.
Airports in Oregon, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle have also opted not to play it.
“We did not provide consent to play the video in its current form, as we believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits the use of public assets for political purposes and messages,” Molly Prescott, a spokeswoman for the Port of Portland, which operates Portland International Airport, said in a statement.
Oregon law also prohibits public employees from engaging in politics at work.
“We believe that giving consent to play this video on Port assets would violate Oregon law,” he said.
New York officials also objected to the broadcast of the video.
“It is inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation's top public officials,” New York's Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said in a statement. “He [Public Service Announcement] “politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA operations, and the county finds the tone unnecessarily alarmist.”
According to the Homeland Security website, more than 61,000 TSA employees continue to work despite a lapse in assignments and the lack of a paycheck for employees.
