Travelers in Colorado’s largest airports won’t be exposed to a video message at security checkpoints from U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in which she blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown.
Airport officials in Denver and Colorado Springs, joining counterparts at multiple other major airports, confirmed Tuesday that the video will not be shown.
Since last Thursday, Homeland Security officials have been asking airport operators to show the video at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. In the video, Noem declares, “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government,” and says this is why “most of our TSA employees are working without pay.”
“This is in violation of the policy our airport has as a public facility. You cannot have non-commercial speech,” Colorado Springs Municipal Airport spokeswoman Aiden Ryan said.
“It is a facility for transportation, not for opinion,” Ryan said. “We are here to run a safe and efficient airport and not to push out political and religious views onto our users. That’s not the purpose of the airport.”
Denver International Airport officials said they lack the video display screens to run the video.
DIA “has not been asked by TSA, as we don’t have monitors at our checkpoints for videos,” Denver airport officials said in a statement.
Grand Junction Airport officials didn’t immediately respond.
DIA and Colorado Springs airport officials aligned with those in Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle-Tacoma, Charlotte and New York in refusing to play the video.
Federal law, under the Hatch Act, prohibits most federal employees from partisan political activity at work in an effort to protect federal employees from political pressure.
The shutdown has halted routine operations and left airports scrambling with flight disruptions. Democrats say any deal to reopen the government has to address their health care demands, and Republicans say they won’t negotiate until they agree to fund the government. Insurance premiums would double if Congress fails to renew the subsidy payments that expire Dec. 31.
The Transportation Security Administration falls under the Department of Homeland Security. Roughly 61,000 of the agency’s 64,130 employees are required to continue working during the shutdown. The Department said Friday that the video is being rolled out to airports across the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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