The three major airports in the New York City area are among several across the country that have refused to play a video from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in which she blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown and its impacts on TSA operations.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates JFK International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, said it would not air the videos, citing rules against “politically partisan messages.”
Along with those three major travel hubs, Westchester County Airport won’t be showing the message either. Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins called the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials,” and said its tone is “unnecessarily alarmist” as it relates to operations at Westchester County Airport.
“At a time when we should be focused on ensuring stability, collaboration and preparedness, this type of messaging only distracts from the real issues, and undermines public trust,” he said.
Elsewhere, airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Phoenix, Seattle and more say the video goes against their airport policy or regulations which prohibit political messaging in their facilities.
Various government agencies, in emails to workers and on websites, have adopted language that blames Democrats for the shutdown, with some experts arguing it could be in violation of the 1939 Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities by federal employees.
The shutdown has halted routine operations and left some 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.
In the video, Noem says that TSA’s “top priority” is to help make travel pleasant and efficient while keeping passengers 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,” she continues.
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.
A DHS spokeswoman responded to a request for comment restating some of the message from Noem’s video.
“It’s unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship. Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
As planes hummed overhead at LaGuardia, on the ground the stress for air traffic controllers continues to soar, as they said they will stop getting paychecks at the end of October should the shutdown linger on.
“It does take a toll on people and it’s not healthy,” said Ray Dahlstrom, of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.”
On Tuesday, controller were handing out pamphlets to alert travelers to the stress they’ve been under.
“How am I going to provide for groceries, you know, provide for my family — on top of, OK, I’m coming into work. I’m having a stressful job trying to put all that stuff to the side,” said Dahlstrom.
The union said that those who aren’t sick have been showing up for work, though the continued shutdown promises to wear them down.
“I still believe it’s safe to fly. I just think that the controllers are taking on an unneeded burden of stress,” Dahlstrom said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would reduce the number of flights if there isn’t enough staffing at air traffic control towers, which has already been done in some cities. The TSA also said that security lines could take longer during the prolonged shutdown.
NBC New York’s Pei-Sze Cheng contributed to this report.