You knew it would make liberal heads explode. As RedState’s Becca Lower reported Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared in a video to be played at airports nationwide that features her explaining why operations may be suffering.
She laid the issue directly at the feet of Democrats and their Schumer Shutdown, and she didn’t pull any punches:
"…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 added.
"We will continue to do all that we can to avoid delays that will impact your travel," Sec.Noem continued. "And our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government."
FIRST ON FOX: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blasted Democrats for the government shutdown affecting TSA workers in a video that will play at every public airport in America. pic.twitter.com/LdhRmF6wlT
— Preston Mizell (@MizellPreston) October 9, 2025
READ MORE: Sec. Noem Brings the Facts Straight to the American People on Airport Delays, Schumer Shutdown
Now, predictably, authorities in several liberal enclaves are refusing to play the video at their airports. You can probably guess who’s at the top of the list; yep, you got it, Portland:
Those airports are in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Charlotte, N.C., and Cleveland, Ohio, according to reports. Three airports in New York are also reportedly refusing to play the video.
They came armed with numerous excuses:
The two northwest airports, Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) and Portland, told local FOX 13 Seattle their reasons for not playing the video.
Staff at Sea-Tac told the TV station that they support bipartisan efforts to end the shutdown and that they are working to support unpaid employees.
Portland airport staff released a statement obtained by FOX 13 saying they did not consent to airing the video because they believe it violates the Hatch Act and Oregon state law, which both prohibit government employees from engaging in partisan political activities.
I would note that Sea-Tac, based in the far-left Seattle-Tacoma area, said in the above statement that they “support bipartisan efforts to end the shutdown.” Note to Sea-Tac: there are no bipartisan efforts to end the shutdown; the Democrats are holding up funding for the government in a naked power grab and are making virtually zero effort to end the shutdown.
Others accused Noem of politicizing the situation:
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins described Noem’s message as “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials.”
“The PSA politicizes the impacts of a federal government shutdown on TSA Operations, and the County finds the tone to be unnecessarily alarmist — particularly as it relates to operations at Westchester County Airport,” Jenkins, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This video will not be displayed at Westchester County Airport.”
Jenkins said the video is "inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials." Um, no, Ken, we had an election, and the voters were very clear about the behavior they were looking for in their top officials.
This Cleveland radio station calls it a “propaganda video”:
Airports Refuse To Display DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s Propaganda Video https://t.co/J5skSG5EyC pic.twitter.com/jYjX51JaIo
— 93.1 WZAK (@931wzak) October 14, 2025
Meanwhile, as of this writing, Democrats are showing little if any interest in resolving the impasse, instead repeatedly refusing to vote “aye” on a simple clean Continuing Resolution. I’ll leave discussions of the Hatch Act and other complaints to others, but Noem is right to tell the public exactly who’s at fault here and why there have been numerous flight delays across the nation. His name is Chuck.
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