Trump Threatens Air Traffic Controllers ‘Who Did Nothing but Complain’ amid Shutdown, Promises $10,000 to Those Who Work

• President Donald Trump took aim at airport traffic controllers for refusing to work without pay during the government shutdown
• As travel delays and cancellations grow, Trump promised to “recommend” a $10,000 bonus for those who continue to work
• Last week, the FAA announced a 10% flight reduction at 40 major airports due to staffing shortages

As delays and cancellations continue to build up at airports across the country, President Donald Trump is taking aim at air traffic controllers for refusing to work without pay due to the government shutdown.

“All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked,'” the president threatened in a lengthy rant on his Truth Social page on Monday.

“For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country,” he contonued. “For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU.”

“You didn’t step up to help the U.S.A. against the FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK that was only meant to hurt our Country. You will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record. If you want to leave service in the near future, please do not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind! You will be quickly replaced by true Patriots, who will do a better job on the Brand New State of the Art Equipment, the best in the World, that we are in the process of ordering.”

Trump ended his missive with another promise to pay, saying, “Again, to our great American Patriots, GOD BLESS YOU – I won’t be able to send your money fast enough! To all others, REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

Last week, Trump’s Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was taking proactive measures to reduce flights by 10 percent at 40 high-traffic airports across the country, including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, Los Angeles International, New York’s John F. Kennedy International, Chicago Midway and more.

“My department has many responsibilities, but our number one job is safety. This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue to work without pay,” Duffy said in the announcement. “It’s safe to fly today, and it will continue to be safe to fly next week because of the proactive actions we are taking.”

On Nov. 5, the government shutdown made history as the longest on record, as congressional Republicans and Democrats remained deadlocked over Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The shutdown has affected government workers around the country, including members of the military, and forced emergency action to continue funding programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which subsidizes grocery costs for low-income families.

As the two biggest travel holidays of the year approach, airport delays and cancellations could become another crippling consequence of the congressional stalemate.

“It’s only going to get worse,” Duffy said in an interview with CNN over the weekend. “I look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you’re going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle.”

“This is not political, this is strictly safety,” he claimed, though he immediately added, “I’m doing what I can in a mess that Democrats have put in my lap. And now I’m trying to keep the American people safe and keep airplanes flying.”

However, on Sunday, Nov. 9, eight Democratic senators broke the party line and voted with Republicans to advance a stopgap funding measure, the first step in ending the shutdown. Next, the Senate has to actually vote on the bill — which, crucially, does not extend the ACA subsidies like the Democrats wanted — before it moves to the House of Representatives for another vote.