The Department of Homeland Security video blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown. Many airport officials say screening the partisan message at checkpoints would risk violating federal law.
by Esther Kaplan Oct. 14, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)
At least eight international US airports have decided not to show a video from Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, that blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown.
Kaley Skantz, a public information officer for the Port of Oakland, said that the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, or OAK, has joined their ranks, bringing the tally to at least nine.
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“The video is not running at OAK at this time,” she said today. “There actually are not any screens to show the video on at OAK’s checkpoints.”
Skantz also noted that the port doesn’t expect screening or air traffic control services to be interrupted as a result of the government shutdown. “We will continue to monitor developments closely and will work with our federal partners to ensure that cargo and passengers travel through OAK safely,” she said.
Newsweek reported today that major airports in Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Seattle; Phoenix; Cleveland, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Portland, Oregon have all refused a request from the Department of Homeland Security to show the footage at security checkpoints, with some saying the overtly partisan messaging may violate a federal law, the Hatch Act, which limits political activity by federal civil servants. Some smaller airports, such as the Westchester County Airport in New York, have followed suit.
“Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted,” Noem says in the video. “It is our hope that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”
Portland airport officials told the Guardian they “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,” noting that playing the video would also violate Oregon state law.
Westchester’s county executive issued a statement describing the video as “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials”.
“The PSA politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA operations,” the executive, Ken Jenkins, said. “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.”
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, did not immediately respond to queries from The Oaklandside, but in a statement to the Guardian, she blamed the Democratic Party for “political gamesmanship.”
Esther Kaplan
Esther Kaplan was most recently the investigations editor at Business Insider. Before that, she was executive editor at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, where she oversaw a reporting team that led investigations for a national podcast, and editor-in-chief at the New York City nonprofit Type Investigations. She launched the Ida B. Wells Fellowship, a program dedicated to diversifying the field of investigative reporting.More by Esther Kaplan
