Following similar decisions at airports in other states, Hawaiʻi officials say they won’t play a public service announcement video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at airports across the islands.
In the video, Noem blames Democrats for the ongoing federal shutdown that has impacted Transportation Security Administration staff and caused delays at airport checkpoints.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation said the video doesn’t contribute to airport safety or efficiency.
“We have informed TSA that our airports will only play videos in the TSA area that help our passengers get through the checkpoint safely and efficiently to TSA security standards. This helps TSA keep our airports and airways safe, while considering the passenger experience throughout,” the department said in an email. “As the subject video does not contribute to safety and efficiency, we have not aired it at our Hawaiʻi airports.”
The decision follows concerns raised by state Reps. Darius Kila and Tyson Miyake, both Democrats, who said in a letter to HDOT Director Ed Sniffen that the video inappropriately contains “politically oriented messaging.”
The letter noted that the federal Hatch Act “prohibits the use of public resources for partisan purposes,” while state laws ban “the use of state time, equipment, or facilities for political advantage.” The letter said that even the state constitution requires public officers to avoid conflicts of interest.
Kila, who chairs the state House Committee on Transportation, said that Hawaiʻi shouldn’t be part of the political fight on the federal level between Democrats and Republicans.
“It further perpetuates the political division that is happening at a national level, and to have it being spewed here locally — I think we are all doing our best at the state level to ensure we move together in a bipartisan fashion,” Kila said. “I always tell folks, if the federal government wants to fight the partisan battles, that's fine. But here in Hawaiʻi we can still work together.”
The lawmakers’ letter references the Port of Portland’s decision not to air Noem’s video at the Portland International Airport.
Dozens of airports across the country — in states like California, New York and Florida — have also refused to air the video.
