Transportation Secretary Rips Dems, Says Flight Cancellations Could Double If Gov’t Isn’t Funded

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted Democratic senators on Friday for continuing to hold out on a deal to reopen the government as Americans face a wave of flight cancellations and delays this weekend.

Duffy said at an event that the 10% reduction in domestic flights imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration this week could be ramped up to 20% reductions if the government remains shut down.

“If this continues, and I have more controllers who decide they can’t come to work, can’t control the airspace, but instead have to take a second job — with that, you might see 10 percent would have been a good number, because we might go to 15 percent or 20 percent,” Duffy warned, according to The Hill.

Speaking to reporters at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Duffy said the Senate needs to remain in Washington, D.C., to pass a spending bill and reopen the government so air traffic controllers can receive their pay.

“Let’s open the government up, let’s pay our controllers, and reduce the pressure,” Duffy said. “That’s not happening. The Senate is actually going home this weekend. As many people here can’t get home, the Senate goes home. They should be here every day, every weekend, every week trying to find a deal, so we can open the government back up.”

“I’m getting sniped at by some Democrats,” he added. “I don’t like it. I didn’t put us in this situation. They did.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on Friday that he would likely keep the Senate in session over the weekend as Republicans urge their Democratic colleagues to come to an agreement on a short-term spending bill. Thune added that the Senate would likely vote on another stopgap bill over the weekend.

Duffy urged passengers who are upset over their flights getting delayed or canceled to “call your Democrat senator.”

“Fourteen times they voted no to open up the government,” he added.

“They should be here every day, every weekend, every week, trying to find a deal so we can open the government back up.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calls out Democrats in Congress for repeatedly failing to end the government shutdown, warning that the pain air travelers… pic.twitter.com/1LJO0Eyfep

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More than 1,200 flights nationwide have been canceled so far on Friday, with another 16,000 flights delayed, according to FlightAware. Friday’s flight disruptions come as the FAA is requiring airlines to reduce domestic flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports. Duffy, along with FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, said on Wednesday that the flight reductions are being imposed to ensure air travel safety due to a shortage of air traffic controllers caused by the government shutdown.

Americans are growing more concerned that the flight disruptions could continue into the Thanksgiving holiday, which is typically the busiest travel weekend of the year.