Saturday, December 6

FAA warns of air traffic cuts, threatening flight disruptions at big US airports


The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it plans to reduce air traffic in 40 “high-volume” markets starting at the end of this week if the government shutdown continues, following what was already the worst weekend yet at airports.

The Trump administration said it would slash around 10% of air traffic at those airports, in a move analysts suggested would lead airlines to cancel thousands of flights as the busiest travel season of the year approaches with the Thanksgiving holiday.

Growing economic ripples, including the Trump administration’s plan to pay partial food aid benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), have raised the stakes for Trump and congressional leaders to find a way out of the shutdown, which this week became the longest in US history as it entered its sixth week.

Bipartisan talks on Capitol Hill have shown some signs of progress, but leaders remain locked in stalemate amid political fallout of Tuesday’s elections. Trump blamed the shutdown as a key “negative” that contributed to GOP losses in Tuesday’s elections, while Democrats celebrated their electoral wins and suggested their stand on the shutdown — especially their push to elevate the healthcare issue — was being appreciated by voters.

The beginning of November also marked the start of an open enrollment period for healthcare programs run by Affordable Care Act exchanges. Premium increases there — with Democrats looking to extend enhanced government subsidies for those plans — are at the heart of the impasse as some premiums are set to double next year.

Read more: How the government shutdown impacts your money: student loans, Social Security, investments, and more

Here are the latest updates as the impacts of the government shutdown unfold.

LIVE 52 updates

  • From Anchorage to Teterboro: These 40 airports are set to be impacted by the coming 10% air traffic cut

    Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans Wednesday to cut air traffic capacity by 10% at 40 “high-volume” airports in the face of air traffic controller shortages.

    These cuts are set to impact some of the nation’s busiest airports. The cuts are expected to begin this Friday with full implementation by next week.

    The full tally of impacted airports wasn’t immediately released, but CBS News on Thursday obtained a full (but apparently not final) list, which the outlet warned still could change in the days ahead as the government readies its final order.

    Here’s the list, organized alphabetically by airport code.

    Read more here.

  • Ben Werschkul

    Immediate reaction suggests Tuesday’s election results may delay any shutdown deal

    President Trump appeared with Senate Republicans on Wednesday and rhetorically asked if this week’s election results could herald a quicker end to the shutdown.

    He then immediately answered his own question saying “I don’t think so.”

    It may be one of the only things that the president and Democrats agree on with new signs emerging on Capitol Hill throughout the day Wednesday that the election result isn’t pushing the sides towards compromise and could instead be pushing them further apart.

    CNN spoke to lawmakers and found that the lesson some progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders have taken from the result is that outsized Democratic victories were a reason to keep fighting.

    USA today also took a look at the issue and found similar political winds in evidence.

  • Ben Werschkul

    Trump weighs in election results saying ‘the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans’

    Tuesday’s election results saw Democratic wins across the board and President Trump didn’t mince words Wednesday morning when he said “the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans.”

    But whether the results from voters — which saw Democratic gains from New York to Virginia to California Tuesday night — could provide an opening towards ending the now 36-day stoppage wasn’t immediately clear with Trump suggesting his next moves will not be in the direction of bipartisan compromise.

    “We can’t be extorted,” the president added of Democrats during the breakfast event with Republican lawmakers, reiterating his view that “it’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do and terminate the filibuster.”

    Top Republicans in attendance — from Senate Majority Leader John Thune on down — have ruled out ending the filibuster previously but Trump persisted saying of Democrats “I don’t think they are really getting the blame that they should” and that efforts to bring them across the aisle aren’t working.

    “It’s time to have a really good talk,” Trump added as he ushered reporters out of the State Dining Room of the White House “we must get the government back open soon, and really immediately.”

  • Brett LoGiurato

    White House: US to send SNAP funds despite Trump post

    From Bloomberg:

    Read more here.

  • Ben Werschkul

    Trump administration says the shutdown may force the US to close some air space next week

    Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that if the shutdown continues for another week it could lead to chaos” as well as a the potential need to close some of the airspace due to staffing issues..

    Reuters reports

    Read more here

  • Ben Werschkul

    TSA workers are riding out this shutdown better than in 2019. Better pay is part of the reason why.

    Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials haven’t been paid for weeks but have seen less disruptions this time around than during the last shutdown in 2018.

    Air traffic controllers are more in focus this time around and part of the reason for that switch — Reuters reports — is increased pay and job security that TSA officials have enjoyed in recent years.

    Read more here

  • Ben Werschkul

    Talks to end the shutdown appear to be making progress

    Multiple signs on Capitol Hill early this week pointed to the possibility that bipartisan talks toward an end to the shutdown are making progress.

    There is (very cautious) optimism that at least a short-term end to the shutdown could be coming into focus as lawmakers look toward a recess that is scheduled to start at the end of the week.

    Reuters reports on a change of tone:

    Semafor adds that talks are getting into details — most pressingly, how long to potentially keep the government open for this time:

  • Government shutdown has affected more than 3 million airline passengers

    An airline industry group said Monday that the government shutdown which began Oct. 1 has affected some 3.2 million airline passengers, in the form of delays and cancellations that can be traced back to a shortage of air traffic controllers, Reuters reports.

    Air traffic controllers are federal employees who are expected to report to work during the shutdown even though they aren’t being paid. But many have started calling in sick, hence the shortage.

    Also on Monday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration would close U.S. aviation if it looked like the shutdown was creating conditions making it too dangerous to travel.

    Read more here.

  • Ben Werschkul

    Trump administration says partial food aid benefits will be paid in November

    The Trump administration said Monday that it will partially fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in response to two judges who issued rulings requiring it to keep the nation’s largest food aid program running.

    The Associated Press reports on how the uncertainty for the most vulnerable Americans could continue.

    Read more here

  • Ben Werschkul

    Halloween helped make this past weekend was the worst one yet at airports since the shutdown began

    Between Friday morning and Sunday night, there were 98 “staffing trigger” reports at FAA facilities, a new CNN analysis of Federal Aviation Administration operations finds.

    This marks the worst weekend for air traffic control staffing shortages since the shutdown began .

    More from CNN

    Read more here

  • Ben Werschkul

    Trump administration faces a Monday deadline to outline its plans for SNAP

    Days of legal wrangling over SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, could get some clarity soon. The Trump administration faces a Monday deadline to tell two federal judges whether it will comply with court orders to fund the program.

    The Associated Press reports

    Read more here

  • Weekend flight delays rise at O’Hare, Newark and other airports amid air traffic controller shortages

    As the government shutdown drags on, major US airports were seeing an uptick in flight delays on Sunday amid the ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers, Reuters reported.

    Air traffic controllers are among the federal employees expected to continue to work without pay during the shutdown, but many have called in sick, causing a ripple effect at busy airports like Newark. New York City’s Emergency Management office posted to social media that travelers flying to or from the New York area should check flight status before heading to the airport.

    Read more here.

  • Bessent says Trump admin won’t appeal court rulings on SNAP payments

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the Trump administration does not plan to appeal a court ruling ordering partial payments of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, Reuters reported:

    The USDA has said it has insufficient funds to pay full benefits to the 42 million low-income Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and the administration argued the USDA doesn’t have the authority to pay the benefits while the government remains shut down.

    But two judges in Providence and Boston have ruled the suspension of SNAP benefits was unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to start paying full benefits by Monday or partial benefits by Wednesday.

    Read more here.

  • ‘Irreparable harm’: Court rules Trump administration must pay SNAP benefits this week

    As millions of Americans faced an abrupt pause in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits this weekend amid the government shutdown, a federal judge in Rhode Island on Saturday ordered the Trump administration to start paying full benefits by Monday or partial benefits by Wednesday, citing “irreparable harm” if the benefits are not paid, Reuters reports.

    Read more here.

  • Furloughed government workers struggle to get unemployment benefits

    Some government workers who have been furloughed because of the shutdown are having difficulty qualifying for and receiving unemployment benefits — possibly in part because the workers who would assist with processing approvals may have been furloughed themselves, the Associated Press reports:

    Read more here.

  • Brett LoGiurato

    Republicans shrug off Trump’s call to zap filibuster

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republican senators brushed off President Trump’s call to scrap the filibuster from Senate rules.

    Via Reuters:

    Read more here.

  • Brett LoGiurato

    US judge blocks Trump administration from suspending food aid benefits

    From Reuters:

    Read more here.

  • Airline CEOs pressure Congress to pass funding bill as flight disruptions mount

    Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:

    Read more here.

  • Brett LoGiurato

    Trump throws ‘hand grenade’ into shutdown deliberations with call to ‘nuke’ filibuster

    Some interesting commentary from Greg Valliere, chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments.

    He says Trump’s call for Republicans to use the “nuclear option” and zap the filibuster from Senate rules amounts to throwing a “hand grenade” into the proceedings. Especially since it comes at a time when negotiations toward ending the shutdown finally seemed imminent.

    Here’s Valliere:

  • Brett LoGiurato

    Trump says time for Republicans to go ‘nuclear’ on filibuster

    President Trump has called for Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to force an end to the shutdown.

    “THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE “NUCLEAR OPTION,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

    Trump’s call throws a potential wrench into GOP leaders’ carefully laid plans. Both parties have in recent years taken steps to erode the filibuster, a Senate rule that requires most legislation to abide by a 60-vote threshold. But both parties have stopped short of eliminating the rule, fearing repercussions upon losing control of the chamber.

    Republicans hold control of 53 seats in the Senate. Most of the Democratic members have remained in lockstep with their party to block passage of bills that would end the shutdown, as the party has clamored for negotiations to extend expiring subsidies for Americans on Affordable Care Act healthcare exchanges.



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