A video featuring Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem that was to be shown at TSA check-ins in the nation’s airports is getting a thumbs-down, reports the Washington Post.
The controversial footage, in which Noem blames slowdowns at the airport on Democrats, is not being shown at several airport in Phoenix, Portland, New York and Seattle, with one county executive labeling her message “unnecessarily alarmist.”
In the video shown to passengers waiting in security lines, Noem states, “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted. Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government."
According to the Post, that is not sitting well with some officials managing airport operations.
"It’s common for airports to display video greetings from the homeland security chief at TSA checkpoints," the Post's report stated.
"DHS videos usually display assurances of safety and other instructions. But Noem’s latest video message is different for its political messaging, according to the airport authority."
The county executive of Westchester County, which has a large domestic airport, called it "inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”
KOMO is reporting that a Port of Seattle spokesperson issued a statement saying, "The Port of Seattle will not play the video on its screens at SEA airport, 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 pushback, according to KOIN, was similar coming out of the Port of Portland, which stated, “We believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes and messaging. Additionally, Oregon law states 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.”