Some senators are finding themselves stranded in Washington, D.C., at the end of the Senate work week due to delays at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport due to the month-long government shutdown.
The Senate held its last vote of the week at 1:35 p.m. Thursday and, as usual, senators rushed out of the Capitol to catch their flights out for the weekend.
But some lawmakers were shocked when they learned their flights had been delayed — in some cases by up to a day — because of the shutdown that has put severe strain on air traffic controllers across the country, including Reagan National.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-D) told reporters that he would be stuck in DC for an additional day because of the turmoil in Reagan and warned that flight problems were likely to worsen in the coming days and weeks.
When Thune was asked if he was affected by the traffic jam, he told reporters, “I’m late by a day.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground delay at Reagan on Thursday due to “staffing” issues, although it lifted the hold by the afternoon. As a result the departure has been delayed by 90 minutes.
