CLEVELAND — Count Cleveland Hopkins and Akron-Canton Airport among the growing list of airports nationwide refusing to show a video of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
"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," Noem said in the 36-second video. "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."
In a statement to News 5, a Hopkins spokesperson said that "CLE cannot display the Department of Homeland Security video. As a publicly operated facility, CLE is not permitted to display content that could be viewed as political or partisan."
While the statement stopped short of citing the Hatch Act, many other airports have named it as the reason.
"The Hatch Act is a longstanding Federal law that basically significantly restricts political activities by Federal employees including cabinet members," said Case Western Professor of Law Jonathan Entin.
You can't use your office for partisan political purposes, he said, but there's one problem with the act that's been around since 1939.
"The Hatch Act doesn't clearly define what is partisan political activity," Entin said, adding the final judgment if a complaint were filed would fall to the Trump administration to enforce.
"I can't envision for an instant that the Trump Administration will take any action against Secretary Noem, even if she has violated the Hatch Act," he said. "After all, they're on the same team."
Either way, travelers like Nancy Michael of Buffalo, who News 5 spoke with on Tuesday as she landed in Cleveland, said it's the type of debate that likely makes the matter harder to resolve.
"I wish everybody could get along, right? Because it affects a lot of people," she said.
Ernestine from Cleveland told us that it includes not just the travelers.
"I think we all realize that it's a hardship for the family members as well as the people who are not getting the furloughs or the people not getting paid. So I do think Washington has to be very mindful of what impact it has on everyday citizens on Main Street," she said.
