Air traffic controllers who had perfect attendance during the government shutdown will receive $10,000 bonuses. Department of Homeland Security is paying out $10,000 to TSA screeners.
Santa’s coming to town a little early
President Trump wanted to give air traffic controllers and technicians BONUSES for showing up to work EVERY DAY during the government shutdown… and TODAY IS THE DAY!
776 patriotic men and women will get $10K checks, just in time for… pic.twitter.com/r9CHT0UyF7
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 21, 2025
This follows an announcement from the President during the shutdown that:
- any controller who doesn’t go to work will have their pay docked.
- those who show up and take no time off during the shutdown will be recommended for $10,000 bonuses.
- those who took time off “will have a negative mark” on their record, in the view of the President, and those who leave in the near future will receive “no payment…of any kind.”
- those who leave will be quickly replaced.
- problems with air traffic control are Joe Biden’s fault, because he failed to fix the system.
Most of this would have been illegal. At the time Secretary Duffy acknowledged he would need to work with Congress on the bonuses. Nonetheless, just like yesterday’s announcement of an $18 fee to travel without ID (and for that matter the administration’s tariffs), the law doesn’t seem to fully constrain this administration.
One Mile at a Time points to a Reddit thread where controllers are sounding off, furious about the bonuses for the colleagues who showed up to work every day during the shutdown. Many controllers had talked openly about sick outs on Reddit.
“This decision isn’t just unfair; it is divisive. It turns our collective sacrifices into a grading scale and pits controller against controller. It sends a message that the dedication of this entire workforce is somehow worth less than the circumstances of a few.”
“I was sick one day during the entire shutdown. I took 4 OT shifts. I took credit on Sundays so I could play Warhammer before showing up to my afternoon shift. (1-2 hours) This sucks”
“Next time I get sick I guess I’ll show up and puke on the floor and then start singing the star spangled banner to prove my patriotism.”
“This has cemented my decision to use even more leave during the next shutdown. What an absolute way to make every controller feel abandoned by the government that supposedly ‘values’ us.”
“Now imagine if someone has a midair or near miss during the next shutdown – and if they are asked what went wrong they say they were actually super sick and fatigued but went to work hoping to get a possible bonus? What a liability issue they just created.”
“Controllers are already stretched to their limits. We are already fighting stagnant pay being further eroded by inflation, exhausting hours, staffing shortages, and the emotional strain of carrying the system on our backs. To now be told that only a small slice of us are ‘worthy’ of recognition is a betrayal of the reality we all are living through.”
I’d note that none of these controllers are harmed by their colleagues receiving the windfall. They are not seeing their own pay reduced! The reaction strikes me as representing among the worst human tendencies.
One Mile at a Time, though, says that “this creates more ill will than anything, given how hard so many people worked, only to essentially be treated as if they didn’t do anything.”
- He analogizes to loyalty program status fast tracks, which anger elites who earned their status by flying or staying under the normal criteria.
- But in the case of expanding elite ranks there’s a literal direct tradeoff in which members receive upgrades – there’s a limited number of open first class seats and suites. There’s no such direct tradeoff, where one controller receiving a bonus means less money for those who don’t.
Still, in some sense it’s strange to actually do this bonusing now – as opposed to announcing it at the start of the shutdown (or to keep paying controllers consistently during the shutdown). An announcement in advance might have kept more controllers on the job and limited damage to air travel from the government shutdown.
Of course both sides use the disruption in air travel as leverage to force bargaining over the end fo the shutdown! After the fact at most it offers a weak signal that similar bonuses might happen again in a future shutdown – though if politicians don’t sign off on continued pay in advance it’s because they don’t actually want to encourage controllers to show up!
Meanwhile I do want controllers to feel like they can take sick time when they’re not in a position to do their jobs – either mentally or physically. The solution isn’t getting everyone to work, even when truly sick. It’s to grow the pool of controllers – something the FAA has failed to do for decades – and to improve the technology so we aren’t as reliant on individual controllers.
Unfortunately, deferred pay during a government shutdown is part of the job. It’s one reason that the controllers union has, in the past, supported spinning the function off into a stakeholder nonprofit along the NavCanada model.
Not only is NavCanada better run, but they’re able to issue bonds (paid for by airline use charges) rather than relying on Congress to pay for capital investment. They have better tech than we do! And their controllers don’t rely on Congress – or Canada’s parliament – for their paychecks.
There were many federal and military folks that get screwed by the recurring government shutdowns.
Singling out one small minority for political grandstanding bonuses is wrong on all levels.
They should have given them all $10,000 bonuses. Period. Stop using ATC as pawns. Pay them more. Hire, train, invest in people and better technology. Enough is enough.
Next time don’t vote for a narcissistic idiot! If you voted for him, unfortunately, you got what you deserved. And if you didn’t make sure you never vote republican again.
Ready Fire Aim. Yes it does seem strangely backward to announce the incentive after the race is over. This administration has its calling card…
worked hard and get paid. very fair.
This is a job where people have to coordinate with each other to get the best results, right? So pitting them against each other, at a time when they all just had to work without pay for a ridiculous period of time, seems like not the best idea? Especially when getting the best results means us all not dying?
This also just creates weird results. Let’s say you had a controller with perfect attendance, and that controller was working the UPS flight on November 4. Surely that controller was then able to take trauma leave, correct? So… are we saying controllers should not have taken trauma leave so that they could have potentially been eligible for a $10k bonus that was announced after the fact?
Yes government needs to paint with a broad brush, but this one just feels like shooting from the hip. I have no problem with a $10k bonus, but everyone should have gotten it as a retention bonus for what they all just went through and have been going through. (Assuming that was legal, of course).
As for humans and their tendencies, not sure I follow completely. Are you saying that the perception of unfairness is the worst of human tendencies? Coveting thy neighbors bonus or something like that? Not sure what say other than perception seems to be more important than reality these days. And “unit cohesion” is a valuable goal when lives are on the line.
@Don G — That’s the thing; they all work hard; if some used vacation days, they got punished. This wasn’t a good-faith incentive; it’s a loyalty test. Next shutdown likely in February 2026, once the current CR expires. #47 is setting up ATC with a false promise of future bonuses (so that they show up), but, like always, it’ll be an illusory promise, and there won’t be bonuses then. Have we learned nothing about how this con-man operates? Wake up, folks.
@1990 – No way they shut down the government in an election year.
Leftists hate competition. I suppose the bonuses should have gone to those with the most credit card debt? Bonus based on need?
There’s no perfect system. Especially in a case where the program had to be developed after the crisis began.
Let’s remember, the democrats were going for chaos. Thank god for President Trump!
Let all the attacks begin.
@Don G – perfect response. The bonus was a thanks for a job well done.
@1990 and the rest of the whiners – Typical whining.
People that didn’t show up are not punished by not getting a bonus. That is crazy talk. You didn’t get something you were never expecting. If we wonder why the gov’t doesn’t seem to work right, that mentality sums it up.
We thought the weak point in the system was the hardware. Not so sure.
@Michael Mainello — If were a President from the other party, you’d argue that these bonuses are not legal because it was not appropriated. So, why is it that the laws only benefit your ‘team,’ yet they bind everyone else? I think you’re fine with dictatorship so long as you perceive your side as in-charge. Yet, with a dictator, you, the people, are never in-charge.
@Brian L. — Hasn’t happened yet (shutdown in an election year, but anything is possible.) If there’s even a vote on healthcare subsidies this December (as Thune promised, but Johnson did not), I doubt it. Healthcare (and the affordability related to it) is still a major issue for nearly all Americans.
thank you for your nuanced approach to this story, Gary.
It is simply unbelievable that 90% of controllers had to call in “sick” during a sick week period given that controllers are supposed to be some of the most healthy Americans – even younger and more healthy than commercial airline pilots.
Controller pay was deferred just as it was w/ previous government shutdowns. they knew exactly what would happen when Congress failed to come up w/ a budget. How people that are among the top couple percent of Americans in pay and do a job that does involve government shutdowns couldn’t plan for several weeks of delayed paychecks is beyond belief.
It was more than 80% of the controllers that called in sick – some undoubtedly legitimately were – that called in sick that turned the shutdown into a political stunt.
Kudos not just to the less than 10% of the workforce that remained on the job but for the government in highlighting the sick leave abuse that clearly takes place throughout ATC – government shutdown or not.
@ Michael — You’re clueless. This is just another act of cruelty. Apparently pedophiles are a cruel bunch.
@Tim Dunn — As we were discussing at OMAAT, these ‘bonuses’ were not appropriated (the typical process that funds for FAA, ATC, etc. are agreed upon by our representative government.) Now, if you want a dictatorship, where the whims of the ‘Dear Leader’ are what happens, then, that’s a different system, entirely, and I don’t think it goes well for the people (or your precious companies.) Ask yourself, if a President from the other party started dishing out ‘bribes’ to his or her own loyalists in a different field, say, union leaders (whom you apparently detest), would you be ‘cool’ with that? No, you would not. (Instead of acknowledging this, you can just call me a silly name.)
@Gene – What a ph’ed up response from a dips–t Democrat. Hopefully Gary bans you from commenting because calling someone a pedo because you disagree with their position illustrates your low IQ.
feel free to let us know the party affiliation of who received these bonuses, 1990.
By all indications, they were based solely on attendance.
We know that socialists, government workers and unionists don’t like accountability or performance based compensation but when less than 10% of the highest paid group of American government workers can’t show up every day in a six week period, we have horrible worker inefficiency and sick time abuse – which absolutely is a far bigger reason for why ATC is broken in the US any other reason.
The best technology in the world doesn’t matter if people don’t or won’t show up to do their jobs as they are paid to do
Totally agree with you, @Tim Dunn. ATC make good salaries, not being able to get by a month w/o a paycheck sounds like total lack of planning.
@Michael Mainello, you’re 100% right.
Yet another reason why ATAC should be privatized . . . or at least brought within the Air Force, which would be a second best solution but better than the current one. Having the FAA run by an administrative agency and manned by civil servants is the worst of all possible situations.
@Tim Dunn — The gall of you to pretend to care about transparency or accountability in anything related to this administration or President. Laughable.
Not the issue, but, I would hope that any such incentive, if properly appropriated, would not be based on any background or affiliation; but, here, we don’t know, and will probably never know. Reports were many of these ATC were based in Texas. Huh. Wonder why…
This is not a mere ‘business,’ Tim. And the President is not a CEO, nor should that office be. The FAA, and ATC, is a government entity, and, rightfully so, because air travel is an essential service; and, because it’s our tax dollars, there are supposed to be rules and procedures, not just random $10K bribes paid to loyalists.
Undoubtably ATC works hard under tough circumstances when they are not being paid. I think the biggest issue with bonuses is the relatively capricious nature. Why only for folks who worked 100%. Why not 95% Why $10,000 and not more or less? Why not $1,000,000? Why only ATC and not other critical workers? It’s not the presidents money to give away, and it’s not up to him to pick the amount or the conditions under which it may or may not be given. If congress decides to offer this, then it is subject to debate and arguably a vote. The executive offering pay directly to some federal employees but not others isn’t a precedent we should feel good about setting.
@ Michael — You really are clueless. I’m not calling anyone a perv who hasn’t openly expressed an interest in “young” girls, including his OWN “hot” daughter, or is known to have “socialized” with underage girls for many hours at the private getaway of a convicted trafficker of young girls. If you can’t put two and two together, then you are a typical supporter of said creep. “I love the un-educated.”
Everything Donald Trump touches turns to chaos. That has been true for past 40 years. Everything he does is transactional, not well thought out, and usually involves retribution for some thing or another. He’s not a “pedo”; pedophilia is sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children, and continuing to refer to everyone you don’t like as a pedophile diminishes the actual, horrific crime.
Controllers angry about the bonus because they legitimately called in sick and missed it, sound childish. Would they have not been sick had they known about it beforehand? How would their lives be different? The bonuses are a stupid idea, and saying they’re a reward for “patriotism” is government malpractice, but the whining is just as bad.
@Gene – ” You’re clueless. This is just another act of cruelty. Apparently pedophiles are a cruel bunch.”
Your words! It is obvious what you mean – own it because you said it. Look in the mirror, the lack of intelligence and the ability to reason is facing yourself in the mirror. Quit acting like an animal automatically defending your territory, you mis-spoke (and I am giving you the benefit of the doubt).
@1990 – ” The gall of you to pretend to care about transparency or accountability in anything related to this administration or President. Laughable.” President Trump is the most transparent office holder we have had in my 70 year lifetime. President auto pen never met with the press and his his administration put a lid on press relations routinely. The least you can be is intellectually honest.
Here is just some of what President Trump did when he was citizen Trump: Weird how you never hear about any of this in the news…… TRUMP DOES THE UNTHINKABLE. I’ve never heard anything negative about the man until he announced he was running for president. Keep in mind, I found that he doesn’t drink alcohol or do drugs, he’s a hardworking businessman. On top of that, he’s one of the most generous celebrities in the world with a heart filled with more gold than his $100 million New York penthouse.Since the media has failed so miserably at reporting the truth about Trump, I decided to put together some of the acts of kindness he’s committed over three decades which has gone virtually unnoticed or fallen on deaf ears. In 1986, Trump prevented the foreclosure of Annabell Hill’s family farm after her husband committed suicide. Trump personally phoned down to the auction to stop the sale of her home and offered the widow money. Trump decided to take action after he saw Hill’s pleas for help in news reports. In 1988, a commercial airline refused to fly Andrew Ten, a sick Orthodox Jewish child with a rare illness, across the country to get medical care because he had to travel with an elaborate life-support system. His grief-stricken parents contacted Trump for help and he didn’t hesitate to send his own plane to take the child from Los Angeles to New York so he could get his treatment. In 1991, 200 Marines who served in Operation Desert Storm spent time at Camp Lejune in North Carolina before they were scheduled to return home to their families. However, the Marines were told that a mistake had been made and an aircraft would not be able to take them home on their scheduled departure date. When Trump got wind of this, he sent his plane to make two trips from North Carolina to Miami to safely return the Gulf War Marines to their loved ones. In 1995, a motorist stopped to help Trump after the limo he was traveling in got a flat tire. Trump asked the Good Samaritan how he could repay him for his help. All the man asked for was a bouquet of flowers for his wife. A few weeks later Trump sent the flowers with a note that read: We’ve paid off your mortgage. In 1996, Trump filed a lawsuit against the city of Palm Beach , Florida, accusing the town of discriminating against his Mar-a-Lago resort club because it allowed Jews and blacks. Abraham Foxman, who as the Anti-Defamation League Director at the time, said Trump put the light on Palm Beach not on the beauty and the glitter, but on its seamier side of discrimination. Foxman also noted that Trump’s charge had a trickle-down effect because other clubs followed his lead and began admitting Jews and blacks. In 2000, Maury Povich featured a little girl named Megan who struggled with Brittle Bone Disease on his show and Trump happened to be watching. Trump said the little girl’s story and positive attitude touched his heart. So he contacted Maury and gifted the little girl and her family with a very generous check. In 2008, after Jennifer Hudson’s family members were tragically murdered in Chicago , Trump put the Oscar-winning actress and her family up at his Windy City hotel for free. In addition to that, Trump’s security took extra measures to ensure Hudson and her family members were safe during such a difficult time. In 2013, New York bus driver Darnell Barton spotted a woman close to the edge of a bridge staring at the traffic below as he drove by. He stopped the bus, got out and put his arm around the woman and saved her life by convincing her to not jump. When Trump heard about this story, he sent the hero bus driver a check simply because he believed his good deed deserved to be rewarded. In 2014, Trump gave $25,000 to Sgt. Andrew Tamoressi after he spent seven months in a Mexican jail for accidentally crossing the US-Mexico border. President Barack Obama couldn’t even be bothered to make one phone call to assist with the United States Marine’s release; however, Trump opened his pocketbook to help this serviceman get back on his feet. In 2016, Melissa Consin Young attended a Trump rally and tearfully thanked Trump for changing her life. She said she proudly stood on stage with Trump as Miss Wisconsin USA in 2005. However, years later she found herself struggling with an incurable illness and during her darkest days, she explained that she received a handwritten letter from Trump telling her she’s the bravest woman, I know. She said the opportunities that she got from Trump and his organizations ultimately provided her Mexican-American son with a full-ride to college. Lynne Patton, a black female executive for the Trump Organization, released a statement in 2016 defending her boss against accusations that he’s a racist and a bigot. She tearfully revealed how she’s struggled with substance abuse and addiction for years. Instead of kicking her to the curb, she said the Trump Organization and his entire family loyally stood by her through immensely difficult times. In 2016, President Trump reportedly assisted Shane Bouvet’s father by covering over $200,000 in chemotherapy costs. Shane’s father, Donald Bouvet, has since recovered from cancer. President Trump allegedly maintains a friendship with them to this day. Donald Trump’s kindness knows no bounds and his generosity has and continues to touch the lives of people from every sex, race, and religion. When Trump sees someone in need, he wants to help.
Two decades ago, Oprah asked Trump in a TV interview if he’d ever run for president. He said: “If it got so bad, I would never want to rule it out totally because I really am tired of seeing what’s happening with this country.'”That day has come. Trump sees that America is in need and he wants to help. How unthinkable! On the other hand, have you ever heard of Hillary or Obama ever doing such things with their own resources? Now that’s really unthinkable! Might be worth passing on!!! Just shows we hired the right guy. If Hollywood , the liberals and the media ever STOP harassing him, Trump will have time to do many more positive things for our country….the good ole United States of America!!
PS ~ To those who are already Fact Checking, don’t bother . . . already did it, and all the stories are TRUE! The Liberal, progressive, socialists want to destroy this guy.
A smart budinessperson could have anticipated these kind of reactions and designed a system that reward desired activity (like working overtime) even if they had a sick day. A smart businessperson would have realized that Pat, who worked every shift but one when they were legit sick, and took on extra shifts/overtime would be ticked that Chris, who simply did assigned shifts without any sick days, gets $10,000. I know we have never elected a smart budinessperson in my lifetime as President, but everyone of them has access to smart budinesspeople and academics informed in the topic.
Right. A monopoly run by a private company.
What could go wrong? Did we learn anything when government let TV be run by cable companies, who each had a monopoly on their own territory?
As they say, insanity is to do the same thing again expecting different results.
@ Michael — Not sure what I wasn’t owning? I am acting like an animal because I don’t like fascists and pedophiles? So, we are just supposed to kick back, relax and roll with it? I’m sure the same was said when Hitler the First was around.
@Gene – I apologize for giving you the benefit of the doubt, you truly are dense. Trump is not a pedo, now hair sniffing Biden and all the Epstein visitors is another story.
@Michael Mainello if you never heard anything negative about Trump before he ran for office you had to have been seriously not paying attention. He’s been the butt of jokes for decades. He had to shut down his sham charitable foundation for self dealing. He had to shut down his University for fraud, and pay restitution to his victims. He basically single-handedly bankrupted the USFL. He’s used race to inflame and divide for decades – from his famous Central Park 5 ad, to threatening to sell Mar a Lago to “the Moonies” if the PB City Council didn’t change the status of the property (he said he was in negotiations with the Unification Church, which the church had to publicly debunk. This was 1992). He’s a liar – not a person who lies occasionally, but a liar, i.e. someone whose lying is part of the fabric of who they are. His mentor was Roy Cohn, one of the most famous psychopaths this country has ever produced. The investigators in Hawaii who supposedly had evidence on Obama’s true birthplace – a disgusting lie. The big, beautiful health care plan that Kayleigh McEnany theatrically dropped onto Leslie Stahl’s lap – yeah, what happened to that? I could go on for days. There’s a reason why The Simpsons lampooned “President Trump” back in 2000, and wasn’t because of his business acumen and generosity. It’s because he was and is a clown, a man of mediocre intellect who would be a nobody today except for raging narcissism turbocharged by hundreds of millions of dollars of his father’s money.
@Rational
Forbes: “In 1996, the Canadian government spun out its air traffic control department into an independent corporation, Nav Canada. That gave it the ability to raise its own funds, and freedom from the narrow interests of lawmakers, who would bridle at any attempts to move jobs out of their districts.”
So, based on your comment, “Right. A monopoly run by a private company. What could go wrong?” I assume after studying this nearly 30-year “experiment,” you’ve concluded they made a mistake we shouldn’t copy. So, what are your major negatives about Nav Canada?
@ Michael — You certainly are naive. I guess the pharmaceutical habits started after the election? Same for the diapers?
@This comes to mind.
“I assume after studying this nearly 30-year “experiment,” you’ve concluded they made a mistake we shouldn’t copy. So, what are your major negatives about Nav Canada?”
Careful, asking for a rational comment from a liberal is dangerous and should I say fascistic. Great question by the way.
@Gene – Funny, the comedians are correct, you can’t fix stupid and your picture is on the poster. Peace out.
@This comes to mind — “But, but… he’s a businessman.” Yeah, haven’t we learned by now that being a ‘businessman’ is not the same as being President, and, not to mention, He’s a bad businessman to begin with.
@Michael Mainello — I see you’re approaching ‘Stephen Miller level’ of sycophant.
You likely define ‘transparency’ as his direct and frequent public communication with the press and the use of social media. But, that’s a dishonest framing. Transparency within the Presidency is the laws and norms related to financial disclosure, like tax returns, and also procedures, like visitor logs, compliance with records laws, and facilitating FOIA requests, all of which have been ‘problematic’ to say the least.
As to your long-paragraph, I read it; yes, flawed people can do ‘nice’ things sometimes. Andrew Ten (1988), that Palm Beach lawsuit (1996), Jennifer Hudson (2008), and Darnell Barton (2013) are real; however, the farm foreclosure (1986) and paying off the mortgage for the motorist are not substantiated (who knows, maybe it did happen). As a public figure and a businessman, any positive press resulting from these acts naturally benefited his brand and public image. The lawsuit against Palm Beach, while having a positive outcome on civil rights, was also tied to his desire to protect his business interests at the Mar-a-Lago club.
Yet, before he ran for President in 2015/2016, etc., he also did a lot of objectively bad things; including, he and his father’s Housing Discrimination Lawsuit (1970s); many bankruptcies between 1991 and 2014 ($1.5 billion in losses for stock/bondholders in his casino companies, and many employees lost their jobs); Trump University Lawsuits (2005–2010, paid $25 million in 2016 to settle.); he used undocumented workers (1980s, when building his 5th Avenue NYC tower); countless contract disputes and general dishonesty (not paying contractors, lawyers, business partners).
Then there’s all his documented personal failings and impropriety, such as: Sexual misconduct allegations (2023, he was found liable in a civil trial for sexual abuse and defamation against E. Jean Carroll); boasting of Assault (Access Hollywood Tape, 2005), not mere ‘locker room talk,’ bud; his several divorces (infidelity during first marriage, July 2006 with Stormy while Melania was pregnant with Barron.) C’mon man. None of this is good stuff for your ‘nice guy.’ Shall we go on? I can do everything both administrations, if we must. Long list, but I’ll get it to you, succinctly.
@ Michael — I wasn’t trying to be funny. Wake up and see reality. The USA is currently run by a drug-addicted, diaper-wearing gangster that like little girls.
@Gene. Wake up Biden is out of office and I am not joking. You however have a serious problem with reality. There is no evidence of drug addition or use (that was Hunter Biden) nor diaper wearing (that was Joe) nor likes little girls (that was Joe and all the Epstein folks).
Seriously, if you don’t like his policies, please articulate them. If you have documented evidence of your claims, then provide them. Yes he was convicted of 34 felonies with no damaged party and no unpaid taxes. If you dare watch this testimony from a judge explaining the felony case.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=1407840420250063
Hey, I get it, you hate the guy, but at least be informed. Also read my long post about Mr. Trump and the record of his good deeds.
When you start listening to actual air traffic controllers, they say, ‘this (bonus) incentivizes (them) to stop showing up once they miss a single hour. Makes it much worse next time.’ Remember this in February 2026 if another shutdown occurs…
Gee, who woulda thunk that a shoot-from-the-hip management style would have any downside?
@ Michael — ROFL at “Yes he was convicted of 34 felonies with no damaged party and no damaged party and no unpaid taxes.” Let’s set that completely erroneuos statement aside and focus instead on JUST ONE of the laundry list of more serious crimes he has committed — trying to steal an election, using fake electors. There is no explanation in the world that makes this fact go away. I suppose you think that is perfectly fine because, why exactly? The bottom line is that this guy has committed treason against the USA. The last time I checked, the punishment for that can be pretty severe.
@ 1990 — You are too nice… 🙂
Thank God you’re 70 Michael. That means your right wing ass won’t be alive much longer and the world will be a better place for it.
@1990 – Then there’s all his documented personal failings and impropriety, such as: Sexual misconduct allegations (2023, he was found liable in a civil trial for sexual abuse and defamation against E. Jean Carroll); boasting of Assault (Access Hollywood Tape, 2005), not mere ‘locker room talk,’ bud; his several divorces (infidelity during first marriage, July 2006 with Stormy while Melania was pregnant with Barron.)
Everyone has personal failings. E Jean Carroll is funny and scary. Never reported anything. Couldn’t provide the correct year, much less month or day, finds rape sexy (her words). So pardon me if I find her credible.
Yes locker room talk.
Infidelity – I guess Clinton and Biden should never have been president. Who knows about Obama, the Manchurian Candidate. Oh by the way Stormy has waivered on that story, but if you find a porn star credible. OK.
@Gene – “Let’s set that completely erroneuos statement aside and focus instead on JUST ONE of the laundry list of more serious crimes he has committed — trying to steal an election, using fake electors. There is no explanation in the world that makes this fact go away. I suppose you think that is perfectly fine because, why exactly? The bottom line is that this guy has committed treason against the USA. The last time I checked, the punishment for that can be pretty severe.”
Are you a child – Let’s set aside the erroneous statement! Are facts difficult for you to comprehend?
“trying to steal an election, using fake electors. ” Bald faced lie. Alternate electors has been used in the past.
“2020 Presidential Election
In the 2020 election, allies of then-President Donald Trump organized and submitted false, uncertified slates of electors to Congress and the National Archives from seven states that Joe Biden had won: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Context: Unlike previous instances, these slates were created after the official results in those states had been certified for Joe Biden and were part of a coordinated effort to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to reject the legitimate results during the joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021.
Legal Status: These actions were part of a plan that a federal judge later found was “more likely than not” a corrupt attempt to obstruct the election. Several individuals involved in the scheme have since faced criminal charges in various states, with some entering immunity deals or reaching settlements in civil lawsuits.
1876 Presidential Election
The election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden saw four states (Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon) send two competing slates of electors to Congress due to widespread allegations of fraud and violence.
Context: The results in these states were genuinely disputed, and without them, neither candidate had the necessary electoral majority to win. Congress was forced to form a bipartisan commission to decide which slates were legitimate, ultimately awarding all 20 disputed votes to Hayes, which secured him the presidency in the “Corrupt Bargain” of 1877.
1960 Presidential Election
During the close 1960 election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, a unique situation arose in Hawaii.
Context: The initial results showed Nixon ahead, but a recount was underway. To preserve their candidate’s option in case the recount changed the outcome (which it did), both the Democratic and Republican parties submitted slates of electors on the date required by federal law. When the recount was completed and certified for Kennedy, the legitimate Democratic slate was officially recognized. This instance is considered a legitimate, albeit unusual, use of a conditional slate in a genuinely disputed scenario, which is distinct from the 2020 effort.”
@LAX Tom – The investigators in Hawaii who supposedly had evidence on Obama’s true birthplace – a disgusting lie.
Do you remember that sHillary was the one that started that rumor?
Also, depending upon your age, In the 1998 Presidential campaign the issue of Willie Horton’s furlough was first raised by Democratic primary opponent Al Gore during a televised debate.
Donald Trump’s business record is public knowledge. What have you accomplished as a comparison?
@Gary
Gary, your response is elitist at best and condescending at worst. Maybe you’ve never had to live paycheck to paycheck and worry about your bills being paid. But if these controllers go to work they have to pay daycare, gas, maybe parking, and tolls. And maybe they have a second job where they can work and actually get a paycheck during the shutdown. Maybe they were sick and had to miss one day, or had to take care of an ailing parent or child for a day.
This is clearly grandstanding by the Trump administration and trying to drive a wedge among the controllers who get the bonus and those who do not.
@Michael Mainello
No matter what Trump does, either good or bad, he will always be the only President in US history to deny an election’s results and attempt to overturn that election. End of discussion. He is a seditious traitor to everything that makes America great. He is an unlawful, unethical narcissist and your defense of him shows that ethics is of little or no importance to you.
Oh well life’s not fair. Performers get a bonus the slackers do not. Move on. I doubt any GS worker who gets a fat pension will quit over this. If you do well you’re a moron and no one needed you to begin with. How do you think bonuses work in the corporate world?
@BA — Ah, yet another person confusing the public and private sector. Cool. Cool, cool, cool.
I’m glad they got the bonuses. It would be better if the bonuses were federal and state tax free.
Conner summed it up far more skillfully than the rest:
“People that didn’t show up are not punished by not getting a bonus. That is crazy talk. You didn’t get something you were never expecting. If we wonder why the gov’t doesn’t seem to work right, that mentality sums it up.
We thought the weak point in the system was the hardware. Not so sure.”
“I’d note that none of these controllers are harmed by their colleagues receiving the windfall. They are not seeing their own pay reduced! The reaction strikes me as representing among the worst human tendencies.”
This is an incredibly tone-deaf thing to say. You really don’t understand the concept of fairness and how this would clearly kill morale in any workplace outside of something like investment banking which is already known to be toxic.
You really need to spend time talking to normal people and not just execs.
@Patrick Gary’s comment isn’t tone deaf at all. Fairness is an overrated concept. It’s irrational to be upset over something someone else received that has no practical effect on you. That’s what he is saying. Where I think we agree, whether you realize it or not, is that most “normal people” are irrational.
@Patrick. “This is an incredibly tone-deaf thing to say. You really don’t understand the concept of fairness and how this would clearly kill morale in any workplace outside of something like investment banking which is already known to be toxic.”
You must be a union guy and obviously a Democrat / Communist. Hard working people, those that are proud of their work, despise mediocre people that just try to do the minimums. These are people that drag down the workplace and cause everyone more work. Technically those folks that came to work were just doing their job and those that stretched the rules and took sick days were also following the rules, but most supervisors know the good employee from the average. A bonus for following the rules and working during the shutdown might not be required, but those that stretched the rule book aren’t being punished either. Yes I supervised a government workforce for a while.
@Patrick — Thank you. You get. Most of these others are just rabid partisans, who, if ‘their guy’ says so, it’s good; and, if their ‘perceived enemies’ say so, bad. Objective reality, facts, logic, reason are worth repeating, but unlikely to sway. Regardless, keep saying what you’re saying. You are not alone.
The best outcome here would be that all ATC get paid more; Congress legislates a fix to this so that no future shutdown harms federal workers, especially not ATC; and that the FAA is properly funded, so that there’s more controllers, better training, technology, and support; but, I see all of that as highly unlikely because it would actually solve problems. Much of this is designed to enrich certain individuals who benefit from the status quo. We all deserve better.
@1990 – “rabid partisans … perceived enemies … facts, logic, reason…”
What a hoot, a bit crazy but a crazy hoot. Have you ever successfully led an organization?
@ Michael Mainello — Impressive writing for one that is one of the “(I love the) uneducated.” Did ChatGPT write it for you?
@Gene – Always with the insults, never with an educated response.
I do use Gemini to help with the research, but “quote it” when I do.
@Mario – “Thank God you’re 70 Michael. That means your right wing ass won’t be alive much longer and the world will be a better place for it.”
Typical brain washed liberal response. It is lazy to just write insults, never solutions.
Be careful, anger will shorten your life.
@Michael Mainello. Donald Trump said he had investigators in Hawaii that had dug up some interesting information. A flat out lie. There were no investigators and no information.
I don’t know what Willie Horton has to do with anything.
And as far as comparing my business record to Trump’s – Trump is ahead in bankruptcies, 6-0.
You’re embarrassing yourself with your continued efforts to defend the indefensible.
@LAX Tom – You funny guy, not real smart, but funny guy.
Democrats bring up crap and then blame Republicans. Obama’s Birth Certificate was sHillary. Willie Horton was Al Gore. Yet the Democrats and the press tried to blame the Republicans – is the clear enough for you?
You have had 0 bankruptcies because you have accomplished very little in your life. President Trump has created many businesses and had 6 bankruptcies. He is employed a lot more people, housed more people and paid more in taxes than you have. You Democrats and Trump haters make fools out of yourself focusing on personality and not results.