KCI refuses to air Kristi Noem’s TSA video blaming shutdown on Democrats
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas City Aviation Department declined a TSA request to air Noem video.
- Airports nationwide cited partisan content and potential Hatch Act violations.
- Local leaders defended refusal and emphasized nonpartisan airport policies.
Kansas City International Airport has joined a growing list of airports refusing to air a video of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown.
A Kansas City spokesperson confirmed the refusal in a statement to The Star on Tuesday. The Kansas City Aviation Department declined a request from the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, to air the video last week, the spokesperson said.
“Leadership determined the video did not meet the department’s advertising standard,” said spokesperson Jackson Overstreet. “The work of the KCAD is non-partisan and focused on making travel from MCI as simple as possible for flyers.”
Kansas City’s denial comes as major airports across the country, including in Arizona, New York, Oregon and elsewhere, have also refused to play the video at security lines. Airports have cited an array of reasons, including its political message and a potential violation of federal law.
In the video, released last week, Noem says that 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,” the video says, “and because of this, many of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.”
The video illustrated a remarkable attempt by Noem and the Trump administration to insert a political message into the airport security experience. Airports across the country often display DHS videos, but they typically center on safety or travel instead of partisan messaging.
Controversy over the video and its partisan message comes after the federal government began shutting down Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass legislation to fund operations. As lawmakers and the Trump administration point fingers, the standoff is poised to leave thousands of Kansas City workers without pay.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas defended the decision not to air the video in a statement to The Star, saying, “Aviation security should not be a place for partisan political talking points.”
In response to airports refusing to air the video, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin sent a statement to The Star that repeated, nearly word for word, Noem’s comments in the video and blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
‘Politely declined.’
Some airports have raised concerns that the video could be a violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law that bans federal employees from political activities to ensure programs are rolled out in a bipartisan manner.
The controversy also caught the attention of the Kansas City Council on Tuesday when Fourth District Councilmember Eric Bunch asked Director of Aviation Melissa Cooper during a committee meeting whether Kansas City would be playing the video.
Cooper, in response, said “we have politely declined that offer.”
“That would be inconsistent with our advertising policy and our formal policy,” Cooper added. “So our answer was ‘no, we would not be participating in that process.’”
First District Councilmember Kevin O’Neill responded that he would like a decision on an issue “as delicate as that” to come before the council before a decision is made. Meanwhile, Bunch emphasized that he agreed with the decision not to play the video.
“I just want to reiterate the importance of, not just bipartisan, but the nonpartisan position of the city government and even those of us on the city council are elected as nonpartisan positions,” Bunch said. “I would hope that our local policy would prevent any sort of political messaging.”
