Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has said that a partial U.S. government shutdown would create “huge problems for transportation,” by halting the hiring of air-traffic controllers “when America recognizes we need more, not less.”
Buttigieg delivered the warning on Wednesday, but on Saturday, it was backed up by the White House as part of a post on X, formerly Twitter, condemning “extreme House Republicans.”
The American government will partially shut down on Sunday, unless Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill can come up with a last-minute compromise on Saturday. The shutdown will mean that millions of federal workers will be furloughed or required to work without pay.
Congress is deadlocked. Speaker Kevin McCarthy failed to get an emergency funding bill through the House on Friday, after 21 of his GOP representatives joined Democrats to bring it down. Even if passed, the bill, which would extend government funding for another month in return for deep spending cuts, is unlikely to have made it through the Democratic-controlled Senate.
In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, by the White House on Wednesday, Buttigieg said: “Right now, a small number of extreme Republicans in the U.S. House are pushing budget cuts and threatening a shutdown that would create huge problems for transportation.
“Let me tell you just a couple of examples of why we can’t afford a government shutdown. For one thing, it would stop the hiring and training of air-traffic controllers at the exact moment when America recognizes we need more, not less, when it comes to support for air-traffic control,” Buttigieg added.
“On the railroad side, it would mean cutting railroad inspections if House Republicans get the budget cuts that they’re pushing for. Thousands of miles less rail being inspected again at a time when we all know we need to be doing more and not less.”
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On Saturday morning, the White House X account reposted this, adding: “20 hours until Extreme House Republicans shut down the government. This shutdown would force more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers to work without getting paid.”
🚨20 hours until Extreme House Republicans shut down the government.
This shutdown would force more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers to work without getting paid.
More from @SecretaryPete: https://t.co/TANiNd1o4j
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 30, 2023
The 2018-19 federal government shutdown, which lasted 35 days, saw a dramatic increase in Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents calling in sick after being expected to work without pay. There are fears that this could be repeated in a 2023 shutdown.
Speaking to The New York Times during the 2019 shutdown, Greg Chin, a spokesperson for Miami International Airport, said that TSA agents had been calling in sick at twice the usual rate, making it difficult to man the airport’s 11 security screening points.
Thomas Gift, who heads the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek that transportation difficulties could increase the pressure on Congress to reach a deal.
Gift said: “Any interruptions that impact average Americans are going to place pressure on Congress to resolve the shutdown sooner. With nearly 50,000 average daily flights overseen by the FAA, delays to travelers at airports aren’t trivial. That said, it’s just one of many factors that will be at play as legislators decide how hard to negotiate.”