Multiple airports refuse to play Kristi Noem video that blames Democrats for government shutdown

Washington
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Major US airports from New York to Oregon and North Carolina to Nevada have refused to play a “public service announcement” from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem at safety checkpoints by which she blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown.

The video is enjoying on screens managed by the Transportation Security Administration at Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan and Bismarck Airport Airport in North Dakota, the airports confirmed to NCS, however many airports have refused to permit it on screens that they management.

The dispute highlights the exceptional push by the Department of Homeland Security to insert a political message into the airport safety expertise that nearly each air traveler should undergo.

“It is TSA’s top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience as possible while we keep you safe,” the video, which was launched final week and first obtained by Fox News, begins.

But the message shortly turns political.

“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.”

TSA checkpoints usually embrace movies that includes government officers welcoming vacationers and explanations of procedures, however they often don’t include political messages.

Passengers at Albany International Airport in New York have been proven the video briefly, earlier than the airport authority took it down.

“The footage in question was placed on the monitors by TSA personnel without prior notice to the Albany County Airport Authority or airport staff,” Matt Hunter, airport director of communications, stated in a press release. “In keeping with longstanding policies of not displaying political messaging or content of any kind, ACAA has made the decision to discontinue airing the video.”

A spokesperson for Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas informed NCS in a press release it “declined” to show the video due to its “political messaging that did not align with the neutral, informational nature of the public service announcements typically shown at the security checkpoints.”

Airport officers have cited a wide range of causes for refusing to play the video, from its “political content” to a possible violation of federal regulation.

“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,” stated Molly Prescott, spokesperson for the Port of Portland, which operates town’s airport.

The Hatch Act is a 1939 regulation which prohibits political actions of federal staff to guarantee government packages are administered in a nonpartisan style.

Prescott added Oregon regulation additionally states no public worker can promote or oppose any political committee, celebration or affiliation.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the main airports round New York City, additionally refused to present the video on airport-controlled screens, citing “longstanding policies prevent airing of politically partisan messages at our facilities.”

In Westchester County, simply north of New York City, the airport is not going to show the video both.

“The PSA politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA Operations, and the County finds the tone to be unnecessarily alarmist,” County Executive Ken Jenkins said in a statement. “It is inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”

A Port of Seattle spokesperson additionally informed NCS Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is not going to play the video “due to the political nature of the content.”

“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,” the spokesperson stated.

In a press release to NCS Tuesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security reiterated a lot of the language from the video, together with blaming the shutdown on Democrats.

“Our security operations remain largely unimpacted at this time. It’s unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship,” the assertion stated. “Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”

Several extra airports famous they don’t personal any screens that might present the video, together with airports in Austin, Texas, Boston, Denver, Little Rock, Palm Beach and Tampa.

Airports who’ve confirmed to NCS they won’t present the video embrace

NCS’s Nic Anderson, Lila Dominus, Chris Youd, Jessica Prater, Kara Devlin and Jan Kaner and Aaron Cooper contributed to this report.