U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) speaks during a press conference after the weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol on June 3, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA.
Annabelle Gordon Reuter
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell on Wednesday called on the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to investigate Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for “possibly” violating the Hatch Act by making a video at the airport blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees, including cabinet members, from engaging in political activity while performing their official roles.
Several major airports have refused to show Noem’s video near passenger screening lines, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Cantwell’s home state of Washington, as well as airports in Chicago and New York.
Many airports specifically noted in their decisions that the videos could violate the Hatch Act. The Office of Special Counsel is responsible for investigating potential violations of the Hatch Act.
In a letter to Acting Special Counsel Jamison Greer, Cantwell accused Nom of “broadcasting partisan video messages on television at public airports across the country in which he falsely blamed ‘Congressional Democrats’ for the impact the current government shutdown has had on airport ‘operations’ and the Transportation Security Administration.”
“This message is not only false, it appears to violate the prohibitions contained in the Hatch Act,” Cantwell, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, wrote.
Cantwell said recent reports indicate that DHS is using taxpayer dollars and federal resources to produce and air videos in which Noem appears in an official capacity.
The letter notes that in the video, Noem is seen standing in front of the American flag alongside the official insignia of the Department of Homeland Security.
“Taken as a whole, Secretary Noem’s video misleadingly slanders political opponents of the Trump administration, convinces the American people that ‘Congressional Democrats’ are to blame for the ongoing government shutdown, and can only be reasonably interpreted as a partisan message aimed at influencing future votes, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that Republicans currently control the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives,” Cantwell wrote.
“As the independent agency charged with enforcing the Hatch Act, I urge you to immediately investigate this matter,” she wrote to Greer.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cantwell’s letter.
A spokeswoman for the Port of Seattle, which operates Seattle-Tacoma Airport, said Noem’s video was not played “due to the political nature of the content.”
A spokesperson for Portland International Airport in Oregon told CNBC that the airport “did not agree to play the video in its current format because we believe the Hatch Act clearly prohibits the use of public property for political purposes or messaging.”
