Is RDU showing Noem video blaming Democrats for the shutdown? What the airport says.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- RDU reviews DHS request to show Kristi Noem video at TSA checkpoints.
- Many airports refuse the clip citing Hatch Act risks and local policy limits.
- Shutdown leaves TSA and other federal employees at airports working without pay.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport says it has not made a decision about whether to show a controversial video from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown.
In the meantime, RDU is airing a different Department of Homeland Security video at TSA checkpoints that provides information about REAL ID and airport security, said spokeswoman Stephanie Hawco.
The department distributed the 37-second Noem video to airports last week and asked that it be shown at security checkpoints. In it, she says the Transportation Security Administration’s top priority is to be as pleasant and efficient as possible while keeping travelers 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,” Noem says. “We will continue to do all that we can to avoid delays that will impact your travel. And our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”
A growing number of airports across the country say they won’t broadcast the video in their terminals. They say it either violates their policies about political messaging or is prohibited by state and federal laws, notably the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits using federal funding for partisan political activities.
In explaining why it would not air the video, Charlotte Douglas International Airport cited airport policy as well as a state law that prohibits municipal employees from using “city funds, supplies, or equipment for partisan purposes.” Charlotte Douglas is owned and operated by the city.
RDU is owned by four local governments — Raleigh, Wake County and Durham city and county — but is governed by a separate airport authority created by the General Assembly.
Hawco said Tuesday that RDU was still reviewing the request to display the video at TSA checkpoints. Nothing had changed as of late Friday, she said.
“All digital and static messaging must be approved internally before it is displayed in RDU’s terminals,” she wrote in an email. “The length of the approval process varies depending on the type and complexity of the request.”
Airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio and Seattle are among those that have declined to show the video, according to published reports. On Wednesday, a group of 17 Democratic U.S. senators sent Noem a letter saying the video violated federal law and demanding that she have it taken down and “provide information about the resources that were used to create and disseminate” it.
The federal government shutdown began Oct. 1 after Democrats in the Senate refused to support a Republican funding bill because it would allow health insurance subsidies for millions of people to expire. Leaders of both parties have blamed the other for the stalemate.
In the meantime, many federal workers at airports remain on the job without pay. In addition to TSA agents, Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers and Customs and Border Protection employees who screen international arrivals are continuing to work during the shutdown.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Is RDU showing Noem video blaming Democrats for the shutdown? What the airport says.."
