US airports refusing to play Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem's latest 'attack ad'
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced the second video would be rolled out across the US
A number of US airports are refusing to play US Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem's latest video to passengers, after it was branded a partisan 'attack ad'.
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Releasing an initial taxpayer funded video earlier this year, it saw Noem thank Donald Trump for his administration’s anti-immigration crackdown in adverts played out across the country.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced a second video was set to be rolled out across US airports.
The video - a clear partisan attack on the Democrats, blaming them for the current government shutdown - was paid for out of US tax payers' dollars.
Starring Noem front and centre, it was designed to play out to travellers moving through US domestic airports big and small across the United States, blaming delays at US airports on the Democrats and the federal government shutdown.
According to Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, Noem’s video has been banned from every airport across the state of New York.
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The clip is seen to blame congressional Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown - and subsequent impact on airport security, after the party refused to vote in line with Republicans in a bid to retain Medicaid subsidies for low income households.
Airports in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Phoenix, Seattle and more are said to be refusing to play the video, according to Associated Press.
The latest video was deemed to have political content that conflicted with their policies and regulations prohibiting political messaging in airport facilities.
The Office of Special Counsel - an independent watchdog responsible for probing ethical lapses, is yet to confirm whether the DHS video will be examined.
It comes off the back of the closure of the Noem-implemented 'Alligator Alcatraz' - a Florida-based detention facility that was penned as the Homeland Security chief's crowning glory.
The facility had been built amid a controversial crackdown on migrants by the Trump administration which has seen more than 56,000 people detained by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
It appeared the facility was set to be shut down within months of opening over safety concerns, before two Donald Trump-appointed appeals court judges stepped in to halt the closure by pausing Miami judge Kathleen Williams’s order to close the facility.