Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday that President Trump has “done everything he could” to ease the pain of the current government shutdown on Americans.
Duffy told Margaret Brennan of CBS News on Sunday, “So, we’ve done everything we could. President Trump has done everything he can to ease the pain of the shutdown on the American people. Again, you remember under Barack Obama’s shutdown, he was trying to close open-air monuments in Washington, D.C. and close parks.”
“President Trump has tried to make this less painful for the American people. So, we’re looking for enough money to pay essential workers, but there are really strict rules about what money we can use and how we can use it,” he said.
The shutdown comes after months of rising tensions between Democrats and Republicans amid Trump’s second term as President and controversial actions taken by him.
On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pressed lawmakers to hold the government to account as major US airports deal with flight delays and cancellations due to staffing shortages.
Transportation Security Administration agents and about 13,000 air traffic controllers are among the federal workers labeled as essential and working alongside. no salary from the beginning Of shutdown.
“As we head into this weekend, the increase in callouts is placing a strain on staffing levels at many facilities, causing widespread impacts across the region. [National Airspace System]” the FAA said on social platform X.
“Currently, half of our core 30 facilities are experiencing staffing shortages, and approximately 80 percent of air traffic controllers are absent at New York-area facilities,” the FAA said. “After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under extreme stress and fatigue.”
