BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - If you’re traveling through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport any time soon, you won’t be seeing a new video blaming Democrats for the federal government shutdown.
Metropolitan Airports Commission’s decision
What they're saying:
Metropolitan Airports Commission Spokesperson Jeff Lea tells FOX 9 they did receive a request to allow the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to air a U.S. Department of Homeland Security video on display monitors within the security screening areas at MSP Airport.
"TSA is not airing the video while the MAC is evaluating this request under applicable legal requirements. We’re grateful for the thousands of federal workers who are continuing to support air transportation at MSP and across the country during the government shutdown," Lea said in a statement.
Kristi Noem’s video
The backstory:
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem released a video late last week that was sent to airports across the country. It blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown, which is now in its second week. The video is meant to play near TSA screening lines.
TSA workers remain on the job during the government shutdown, but are doing so without pay. According to a Reuters report, as many as 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA employees must still show up for work, but aren’t getting paid.
"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," Noem said in the video.
MSP joins others not playing video
Dig deeper:
The MSP Airport is one of several across the country not playing the 37-second video. Other airports include Las Vegas, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Charlotte and Cleveland. Three airports in New York are also not showing the video.
The government shutdown began at the start of the month, with both sides unable to agree on a funding bill. Democrats have insisted that tax credits making health insurance more affordable must be extended as part of any deal to reopen the government.