The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is seen on Feb. 18, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Passengers at Alaska’s biggest airports may soon see a political advertisement published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that blames Democrats for the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The video, promoted by the White House, features Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and is expected to appear at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.
Airport officials in other states — including Noem’s home state of South Dakota — have declined to allow the video, citing longstanding policies against airing political content.
In Alaska, the state department of transportation and public facilities owns and operates more than 230 airports statewide, including Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and Fairbanks International Airport.
Shannon McCarthy, a spokesperson for the department, said TSA has requested permission to air the ad at both of those airports, but not at others the state operates.
She said those airports “don’t own screens that would be used for this type of content” and that the screens in most parts of the airport are “typically the property of an advertising concessionaire.”
“That said,” McCarthy added, “the Transportation Security Administration does have the ability to display the video within its leased areas at the airport.”
TSA did not respond to an inquiry sent to its listed email address. The phone and email of its listed contact for the region that covers Alaska was disconnected.
Alaska’s Executive Branch Ethics Act prohibits the use of “state funds, facilities, equipment … for partisan political purposes,” but transportation officials said they don’t believe the ethics law applies in this case.
In the 30-second video, Noem acknowledged the federal government shutdown may affect travel, saying “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government. … 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.”
Senate Republicans could unilaterally pass budget language funding the government, but doing so would require them to eliminate the filibuster, a rule that requires 60 votes instead of 50 for much of the U.S. Senate’s business.
The Senate has already sidestepped the filibuster with regard to presidential appointments to public office, allowing them to appoint officials without Democratic votes.
Senate Democrats have said they also are willing to offer votes for a shutdown-ending budget deal if Senate Republicans agree to extend subsidies for health care coverage. Thus far, Senate Republicans have declined to do so.
“TSA operates under a license agreement or what TSA calls an ‘Other Transactions Agreement’ or OTA. … It is silent with respect to displaying videos like the one in question,” McCarthy said.
Only a handful of Alaska’s airports aren’t owned and operated by the state. One notable exception is Juneau International Airport, the state’s third-largest.
There, airport manager Andres Delgado said that he had received an email from a TSA official providing advance notice but hadn’t yet received an official request.
He said he wanted to check with the city manager and legal counsel before deciding whether to allow the video.
“We’ve been, understandably, trying to avoid taking a stance on it,” he said.
