Airports told to show video blaming government shutdown on Democrats. Is it legal?

Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald on Oct 14, 2025

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Take off your shoes. Remove electronic devices. Have your boarding pass ready.

These familiar phrases echo daily through airports, guiding millions of travelers as they pass through security checkpoints.

Now, a new message — more political than practical — is set to be broadcast at airports across the country, pinning the blame for the government shutdown on Democrats.

The White House announced last week that a 30-second video will play in U.S. public airports.

“Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says in the video. “Because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.”

“We will continue to do all that we can to avoid delays that will impact your travel,” Noem adds. “And our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”

It comes after the federal government shut down on Oct. 1, following Congress’ failure to pass a funding bill before the fiscal year ended.

Republicans blame Democrats for rejecting their clean spending proposal, while Democrats point fingers at Republicans for opposing their plan, which would extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire this year.

Is it legal?

Noem’s overtly partisan message may run afoul of the law, legal experts told McClatchy News.

Specifically, it may violate the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that limits the political activities of government employees.

“The video violates the Hatch Act because that statute and its implementing regulations prohibit executive branch employees — including Secretary Noem — from using their official title while participating in political activity, which is defined to include ‘an activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party,’” Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law, told McClatchy News.

“This video is directed at imposing a political cost on Democrats for the government shutdown,” Clark said, “... despite Republican control of the House, the Senate and the presidency.”

Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen, a progressive think tank, echoed Clark’s view.

“Noem’s partisan video to be shown publicly at airports is a clear violation of the Hatch Act,” Holman told McClatchy News. “People are very concerned about their own safety in flying. This video is intended to elevate that fear for sheer partisan purposes ...”

When asked by McClatchy News about the legal implications of the video, a DHS spokesperson echoed Secretary Noem’s statement, placing the blame for the shutdown on Democratic lawmakers.

Other legal experts were more skeptical that Noem’s video infringes upon the Hatch Act, though they indicated it may fly in the face of other laws.

“We don’t see it as a clear violation of the Hatch Act,” Cynthia Brown, the senior ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit watch dog, told McClatchy News. “The Hatch Act is something that comes first to people’s minds because it may be the most known law regulating activity in government, but its violations are tied to elections.”

The legislation explicitly prohibits federal employees from interfering with or affecting the outcome of an election.

Richard Painter, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School and former ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, concurred, telling McClatchy News that Noem’s video could violate the Hatch Act “if intended to influence an election.”

That said, both Painter and Brown said the airport video likely flies in the face of appropriations law.

“This probably violates the statutory prohibition on use of appropriated agency funds to influence Congress,” Painter said, specifying the relevant law: “18 USC 1913.”

This law states that congressionally appropriated funds cannot be spent to lobby or sway government decisions without explicit congressional approval.

Reaction from airports

In response to the Trump administration’s moves, multiple airports around the U.S. refused to play Noem’s video.

Air travel hubs in New York, Washington and Arizona said they won’t air the video on account of the “political nature of its content,” according to The Washington Post.

“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,” a representative for the Port of Portland, which operates Portland International Airport, told CNN.

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