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US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has slammed the Democratic Party amid the government shutdown, highlighting delays and hinting at airspace closure. The shutdown has entered its 35th day since kicking into effect on October 1.
Duffy on Tuesday warned that the government might be forced to close parts of the national airspace amid the shutdown, according to a Reuters report.
“You will see mass flight delays. You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it,” Duffy said at a press conference, as per the report.
Duffy pointed out that over 46% of the delays on November 3rd were due to staffing shortages, in a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday, sharing a video of the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slamming the Democrats ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday season.
“It is only going to get worse the longer the shutdown goes and the holiday travel season approaches,” Duffy said, urging Democrats to “END THE SHUTDOWN and pay our controllers.”
It’s worth noting that official FAA data shows that there were about 11,000 Certified Professional Controllers in the U.S. employed by the agency, who face paycheck issues amid the shutdown. 80% of the staff in New York City were absent, according to the FAA, last week.
Duffy also criticized the Democrats for affecting recruitment. "The damage from the Schumer-Jeffries shutdown is REAL and will be LONG-TERM," Duffy said. He added that the DoT was on the lookout for the "best and the brightest air traffic controllers," citing President Donald Trump's comments.
However, Duffy outlined that the ongoing shutdown has affected "the pipeline" of recruits, saying that paycheck uncertainties have affected potential candidates to reconsider becoming ATCs. "The consequences don't lift when the government re-opens," Duffy said.
Meanwhile, in an address to the media, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed the Republicans and Trump over the shutdown. "There's nothing to be optimistic about… Donald Trump shut the government down, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to be out on furlough or to work without pay," Jeffries said. He added that the results of the elections would "decisively reflect" that the Republicans have "gone way too far."
It's worth noting that Democratic Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani won the NYC Mayoral Race, beating former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) also claimed victory and became Virginia’s first female governor.
The news comes as officials in NYC warned of delays and cancellations amid staff shortages at Newark Airport. Officials also warned that delays at Newark would also potentially affect operations at JFK, as well as LaGuardia airports in the city.
Meanwhile, Duffy claimed that ATCs working without paychecks were resorting to driving for DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH) and Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) to "put food on the table."
Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL), on the other hand, said that the company is in constant contact with Duffy, working to find solutions amid delays and staff shortages, urging lawmakers to reopen the government.
Elsewhere, Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Trump's decision to renovate the White House bathroom, with Jeffries saying that millions of Americans would face "double, triple, or even quadruple health insurance premiums as a result of the Republican shutdown."
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
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Photo courtesy: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com
