Transportation Secretary may fire absent air traffic controllers

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has threatened to fire air traffic controllers who call in sick while working without pay during the government shutdown.

In an interview with Fox Business News on Thursday, Duffy called absent employees “problem children” and said they were responsible for more than half of the country’s flight delays as the shutdown continues without lawmakers reaching an agreement.

He praised the controllers who still show up for work and said only about 10% are lashing out by not coming to work while the government has no funding and is unable to pay them.

“If some of our employees aren’t as dedicated as we want them to be, we’re going to let them go,” he said.

Duffy said the “small subset of controllers” were creating “this massive disruption” of flight delays and cancellations.

He also discussed back pay, which President Donald Trump said might not be paid to some federal workers.

Last week, the president said some employees who are not at work may not receive retroactive pay once the government reopens. Air traffic controllers, however, are considered “essential workers” and are still required to perform their duties.

“When you come to work, you get paid,” Duffy said. “If you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid. That’s how we’re going to do it.”

With the shutdown now in its second week, the consequences of Congress’ inability to agree on a budget are becoming increasingly serious.

The Smithsonian Institution, a revered collection of public museums that includes the National Zoo, announced it will begin closing sites Sunday, when the funds it currently uses to stay open run out.

Meanwhile, military personnel could miss their expected paychecks next week if the government does not reopen.

The Senate failed Thursday to pass a resolution to reopen the government, and political parties continued to trade blame for the shutdown. Democrats are demanding that any resolution address health care subsidies for low-income Americans and reverse the Trump administration’s cuts to the Medicaid health program, while Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, will only support a “clean” bill that extends the government’s current budget.

The most immediate effects were felt at the nation’s airports, with increasing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) absenteeism forcing them to cancel and delay flights and, in some cases, rely on controllers at neighboring airports to manage their traffic.

As of Thursday evening, flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, which was the focus of traffic safety concerns earlier this year, were delayed an average of 87 minutes, according to the FAA.

Nick Daniels, president of a controllers union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, gave several interviews this week in which he reiterated that the absences were not coordinated by workers to pressure the government to reopen.

As the impact continues to be felt across air travel, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recorded a video blaming Democrats for the shutdown. The video would be shown at major U.S. airports, greeting travelers as they go through security.

“Democrats in Congress are refusing to fund the federal government and as a result, many of our operations are being affected,” she says in the recorded video.