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2:28Democratic senators want an investigation into whether the Department of Homeland Security violated federal law by sending a video to airports of Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.Department of Homeland Security
Democratic senators are claiming the Department of Homeland Security may have contravened the Hatch Act by requesting airports nationwide to display a video showcasing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem faulting Democrats for the consequences of the government shutdown.
"This appears to be a blatant infraction of Sec. 715, which stipulates 'No portion of any funds allocated in this or any subsequent act shall be utilized by an agency of the executive branch… for the creation, distribution, or implementation of any… cinematic presentation crafted to bolster or undermine legislation awaiting consideration before Congress, save for presentations delivered to Congress itself,'" Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal penned in the communication to DHS, citing a clause from the Anti-Lobbying Act.
The Hatch Act curtails specific political undertakings by federal personnel and some state, Washington, D.C., and local government employees engaged in or participating in federally financed initiatives. Consequences for its violation can encompass dismissal from federal service, suspension without remuneration, reduction in rank, or barring an individual from federal positions for a duration of up to five years, as per the Office of Special Counsel.
"The law's objectives are to guarantee that federal programs are managed impartially, to shield federal workers from political duress in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are promoted based on competence rather than political alignment," as stated on the U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s website.
Democratic senators want an investigation into whether the Department of Homeland Security violated federal law by sending a video to airports of Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.Department of Homeland Security
In reply to ABC News' inquiry for remarks on the call for scrutiny, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, "DHS responds to formal correspondence through authorized channels."
"It is TSA's foremost concern to assure that travelers encounter the most agreeable, streamlined, and secure air travel safety experience imaginable. It is a straightforward declaration of reality that Democrats in Congress decline to fund the federal government, and consequently, the majority of our TSA personnel are working without remuneration. It’s regrettable our workforce has been placed in this predicament due to political maneuvering. Our aspiration is that Democrats will soon acknowledge the significance of opening the government," she conveyed.
The communication followed a collection of airports countrywide choosing not to showcase the video, indicating that their facilities' guidelines prohibit the display of political material. Several also referenced the Hatch Act.
Among the prominent airports that refused to exhibit the DHS video are LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy, Charlotte Douglas International, Seattle-Tacoma, San Francisco, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O' Hare, Phoenix International, and Colorado Springs.
As of Wednesday afternoon, representatives at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Michigan and Bismarck Airport in North Dakota reported that the video was being presented on screens managed by TSA within the airports and beyond their influence. Both airports communicated that they were not implicated in the resolution to play the video. A representative for Detroit Wayne Airport mentioned it has petitioned TSA to cease the video's exhibition.
The letter to DHS spearheaded by Blumenthal and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed was countersigned by 15 additional senators and implores the department to "promptly withdraw these videos from all TSA checkpoints and discontinue illegally employing federal funds for biased political messaging."
The senators additionally requested DHS to furnish details on the financing utilized to generate the video, encompassing the expense, the approver of the finances, whether any member of the Trump administration was consulted regarding the video, and if any external contractors or organizations were associated with its development to ascertain whether any federal regulations were breached or funds misapplied, according to the communication.
TSA agents check passenger identity documents at a security checkpoint security at Reagan National Airport on the first day of the US government shut down in Arlington, Virginia, on October 1, 2025.Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
A parallel communication was dispatched by Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, ranking member on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, to the Office of Special Counsel demanding an inquiry into the video, adding that the OSC is responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act.
"When assessed in its entirety, Secretary Noem's video can only be logically construed as a partisan communication designed to deceptively defame the Trump Administration's political adversaries, persuade Americans to indict 'Democrats in Congress' for the continuing government impasse, and sway their future electoral choices — all the while omitting the actuality that Republicans presently preside over the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives," Cantwell composed in the communication.
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Sourse: abcnews.go.com
