Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
Since the Government shutdown, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, appeared in a video played at TSA checkpoints across the country. In the video, Noem blames the Democratic Party for the shutdown that has caused several airports to refuse to play the video. According to NPR, the airports refused to play the video because the messaging in the video either violated their policies or was illegal. In the video, Noem says, “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. 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.” The controversy of the video comes from the fact that it might be illegal.
One of the spokespeople for the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport gave a statement about the airport’s refusal to play the video saying that the airport “strives to maintain a neutral and welcoming environment for all travelers” The Noem video did not meet those standards in the eyes of the airport. One spokesperson for the Port of Seattle stated, “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.”
Furthermore NPR obtained some insights from Stanley Brand, a professor at Penn Dickinson Law, who said that airports receive federal funding which means that there are rules and regulations on how they can use that money. Part of those rules says that they can not use the money to influence politics. The Port of Oregon had a spokesperson send out an email saying “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.”
According to TIME Magazine, The Hatch Act allows federal employees to take part in political campaigns with some restrictions. One of those restrictions includes engaging in political activity while on duty or while wearing office insignias. The typical punishment is removal from service, demotion, suspension from federal service for a period of up to five years, letter of reprimand, or a civil penalty not to go over $1,000. Noem is exempt from this punishment because she is a senate appointed nominee, so the OSC has to submit a report to the president with a recommendation for punishment. Noem could face sanctions from Trump if she violated the Hatch Act. However, Trump has blamed the Democrats for the shutdown just like Noem did in her video.
Two other reports made to Trump about his officials by the OSC have gone unanswered. One such report about Kellyanne Conway recommended she be fired but Trump did not oblige. Another report about Peter Navarro went unanswered entirely. Noem’s video continues to come under scrutiny as more and more airports refuse to play her video.
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