MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Multiple airports across the country are refusing to play a video at security checkpoints, a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In the video, Noem blames Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown. Ethics experts and airport officials say that violates federal law. NPR's Jaclyn Diaz has been following this. Hey, Jaclyn.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: Hey.
KELLY: Hey, so give us the basics. Where is this video meant to be played? What exactly is Noem saying in it?
DIAZ: Sure, so these videos from the Department of Homeland Security are meant to be played on TV monitors just as passengers line up at TSA security checkpoints. So if you're line, you might see a video from a government official usually playing where they talk briefly about airport security and things like that. But this video from Secretary Noem is different. Here's a clip of it from CNN.
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KRISTI NOEM: 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.
DIAZ: So as a reminder, we are in Day 14 of the government shutdown, and Republicans and Democrats are at an impasse over a new spending bill. And there have been some delays at airports because of staffing issues, but we haven't seen widespread delays at TSA checkpoints specifically. And we asked DHS about the video. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin sent a statement that was similar to what Noem said in the video, but McLaughlin also said, quote, "it's unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship."
KELLY: Spell out what the objections to this video are.
DIAZ: Yeah, so I spoke to government ethics experts, and two agreed that Secretary Noem's video violates a law called the Hatch Act, and that bans officials in the executive branch from using their official title while participating in political activity. And under this law, it's also illegal to use government resources to benefit or harm any political party. Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, says that's what's happening here.
KATHLEEN CLARK: Secretary Noem's video is directed at imposing a political cost on Democrats for the government shutdown.
DIAZ: But she said it's important that we can't view this video in a vacuum. Since the shutdown started, the Trump administration has used taxpayer dollars and government agency websites to blame Democrats. That's also a violation of the Hatch Act, she said. She also says it looks like the Trump administration is openly violating the Hatch Act just to show it's above the law.
KELLY: So lots of questions there. Jaclyn, my question for you, you have reached out to several airports, some of the ones that are rejecting this request from DHS. What are they telling you?
DIAZ: Yeah so - so far, at least - I got responses from seven major airports from across the country, and they told me they're not playing the video. A spokesperson for Atlanta's International Airport said it, quote, "strives to maintain a neutral and welcoming environment for all travelers." And they thought this video didn't comply with the airport's policies. I heard similar messages from other airports, and officials in Chicago told me that the Noem video specifically violated the Chicago Department of Aviation's advertising policies against endorsing or opposing any political party. And in Oregon, folks that run Portland International Airport said this video probably violates state law as well as the Hatch Act. And I asked DHS to respond to the accusations that the video violates the Hatch Act, but they didn't reply to that specifically.
KELLY: NPR's Jaclyn Diaz - thanks, Jaclyn.
DIAZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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