In the video distributed to ports across the country, Noem says, “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.”
She continued, “We will continue to do all that we can to avoid delays that will impact your travel, and we hope that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”
Portland International Airport told a local ABC News affiliate, “We believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits using public assets for political purposes and messaging.”
The Hatch Act restricts the political activities of federal employees to maintain a “nonpartisan workforce.”
New York’s Westchester County Airport called the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”
Also in New York, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which operates Buffalo Niagara and Niagara Falls International airports, told a local NBC News station, “Its long-standing policy” prohibits using public service advertising for “partisan messaging.”
Three TSA officers told Forbes, “people are very put-off by this rhetoric” and “we feel sickened.”
Both Democrats and Republicans have dug in over the issue of healthcare as laid out in President Donald Trump’s "Big Beautiful Bill."