When air traffic controllers in the Northeast stopped coming to work during the government shutdown in 2019, the shutdown ended. The consequences of continuing were too great.
Airlines need the government shutdown to end because, while TSA screeners and air traffic controllers are considered essential workers and continue to do their jobs, they won’t get paid until the shutdown ends. And they get frustrated. Frustrated air traffic controllers are stressed, and stressed air traffic controllers take leave.
The Department of Transportation regulates nearly every aspect of the airline business. Airlines were ‘deregulated’ in 1978, but remain one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country. The overhead bins on planes are regulated. The look of the exit row signs, the way no smoking signs operate, and the dividers between first class and coach are all regulated. During the pandemic when airlines started handing out hand sanitizer that required checking with DOT first. And all of that work slows down or comes to a halt while the government is shut down.
While airlines need the shutdown to end, the Trump administration – which exercises authority over almost every aspect of their business – has pressed them into service to promote their narrative of the shutdown. Today each of the CEOs of the three largest U.S. airlines came out for ending the government shutdown ‘with a clean CR’.
- Democrats want health care funds as part of re-opening the government
- Republicans want a ‘clean CR’ or simply to continue the status quo, with government open and no conditions.
American and Delta Put Out Statements Supporting The Republican Position Over The Government Shutdown
First Delta CEO Ed Bastian was called upon to speak up for the Trump administration, demanding a ‘clean CR’.
New: @Delta calls for clean CR to reopen government pic.twitter.com/ygkCUxBjNo
— David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) October 30, 2025
And then American Airlines CEO Robert Isom came out of a meeting with the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and put out a statement supporting the Republican position in the shutdown.
New: @AmericanAir statement after CEO meeting with @VP @SecDuffy pic.twitter.com/kZdNvismx1
— David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) October 30, 2025
It is concerning that the regulator is dictating political statements airlines feel pressured to make – not just that the shutdown needs to end, but what the best political compromise is to do so. It’s one I happen to agree with! But when your regulator influences your speech that’s a problem. Some readers will think that I am a partisan in saying this, but they are simply confused. I was once mistakenly introduced on Fox News as the author of “View From The Right Wing”..!
To some extent it’s inevitable. Many industries worked to appease the Biden administration, the first Trump administration and the Obama administration before that. But this continues to escalate, because the executive branch continues to exercise ever-increasing whims to favor or disfavor specific companies.
During the Biden administration, Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s line was different. He did not take sides: “reaching resolution is more important than any one political point…we certainly encourage our leaders to show leadership and get through this for all of us.”
Scott Kirby, Blink Twice If You’re O.K.
The Trump administration is United’s regulator. CEO Scott Kirby knows that things can go down easy for United or they can go down hard.
Kirby may want approval for buying JetBlue. He doesn’t need unusual levels of maintenance oversight. He certainly needs signoff on new aircraft entering the fleet. Requests can be processed quickly, or not at all. There are route authorities he’ll need.
Here he is, flanked by the Vice President and the Secretary of Transportation. This is a hostage video.
HOLY CRAP! The CEO of United Airlines is now GOING OFF on Chuck Schumer and the Democrats for shuttering the government and refusing to pay air traffic controllers
It's getting worse for Chuck!
"Let's get a CLEAN CR…without putting the American workers and economy at… pic.twitter.com/qjjGKjL0SB
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 30, 2025
Airlines Need Things From The Trump Administration, And Know They Have To Play Ball
American, United and Delta went to the first Trump administration asking to limit flights to the U.S. by Emirates, Etihad and Qatar. That culminated in an Oval Office meeting where Trump defenestrated then-American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, mocking his stock price. They didn’t get what they wanted.
United Airlines was considered the ‘most woke’ airline during the Biden administration, but they donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. They hardly have ‘clean hands’ or a history of standing on principle. Now they have to bend the knee if they want to continue to do business. That’s not the way we want things to work.
- Misallocates of resources to politically connected firms rather than the most productive or innovative ones, reducing overall economic growth.
- Entrenches incumbents, preventing innovative new entrants, competition, and innovation.
- Encourages lobbying, bribery, and manipulation of regulation to capture benefits, diverting talent and capital from productive uses and harming consumers.
- Erodes the rule of law, and predictable enforcement of laws is key to investment and growth.
- Politically connected firms expect bailouts or protection from failure, leading to excessive risk-taking.
- Government resources get wasted on subsidies, tax breaks, or guarantees for favored firms instead of public goods.
- And the economy becomes less competitive globally as capital and talent are allocated based on political favor rather than productivity.
It’s no surprise we see this in such a heavily regulated industry as airlines. It’s a harbinger for what we’ll see elsewhere (and are already seeing elsewhere), too. It’s not new, or partisan, but it’s reaching new levels of danger.
Today it was no coincidence that the CEOs of Delta, American and United all took the same public position on the government shutdown – that it needs to be resolved in exactly the way that the political leaders who regulate them says it does.
Hard to hear Scott speak with #47’s tiny mushroom in his mouth. Shameful.
” Just stay a little bit longer ” ( Jackson Brown. )Jose Andres is feeding the families of the ATC. Mortgage and other credit companies will defer payments. No it may not the best travel season, but we can be hostages or eventually free from tyranny.
Trump and Politicians are all Crooks. Nixon eve said it!
They have rap sheets
All corporations need to STAY OUT OF POLITICS.
it is for the people not For the CEO’s
Where do all the taxes and fees attached to airline tickets go? The State Dept employees who process passports are still working and getting paid due to salaries being supported by passport application fees. TSA and ATC should be no different, CBP too. I have flown multiple times this month and paid my government-imposed taxes/fees.
@Maryland — Jose Andres and everyone at World Central Kitchen are truly worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, not only for here and now, but for the countless lives they’ve enriched and literally saved in some cases.
1990, Andres has been nominated for the peace prize in the past. Unlike Putin’s puppy Donald that begs for it.
@ 1990 — Tiny mushroom! Love it. I don’t understand why the shutdown needs to end. Didn’t someone say that the congress isn’t needed for the next 3.5 years? They already passed everything Merica needs. I mean, who needs nutritious food and healthcare. Feed them cake!
United and Delta are run by weasels but this really illustrates that they’re spineless weasels. American hasn’t had a CEO who could count past ten with his shoes on since before the USAir merger so I don’t actually expect much from them although it’s still galling that the Big 3 are choosing to side with the destruction of norms in exchange for short term benefits.
@Gene — As I said over on Ben’s site, by tacitly siding with the admin (and thus not caring about healthcare), Delta is acting like the Marie Antoinette of airlines, “Let them eat Biscoff!”
No story here. Exactly what is to be expected. Now, if the ATC gave an ounce of concern for their self-interests they would support the shutdown and the Dems.
The current administration has done everything they can to undermine the unions representing all federal employees. Any effort by the ATC to pressure the Dems to capitulate would be at the cost of the ATCs’ own self-interests. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for the current administration to totally screw ATC once this is all said and done.
Say what you will but the fact is the Republicans want a CR with no additions, no tacked on pork, etc. The Democrats are afraid of their far left counterparts “primarying” them and are playing politics with SNAP, WIC and Federal workers pay, including ATC’s and Military. They have voted 13 times against just a clean CR.
There is a lot of false claims on social media. The truth of the matter is that the Senate Democrats (not the House Democrats) are responsible for the shutdown because they voted against CR, continuing government operations. However, the Senate Democrats are doing it because they really want their legislation passed. Of course, the Republicans and Democrats could compromise and should. When you compromise, you usually don’t get all of what you want.
It is quite sad the level of pain suffered by many because one party wants to continue a temporary Covid subsidy that applies to people making more than 400% of poverty income. So, they want us to continue to give tax dollars for the health insirance of single people making more than $60,000/year.
Its really chaotic to see senate Democrats trying to place blame elsewhere; seems when the Republicans were the minority & holding up the shutdown, it was them screaming about the lack of the GOP supporting clean CR bills while they work out the rest. Lots of clips on Insta, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc. Now its perfectly OK to drag their feet and keep the government shut down with a CR sitting there, waiting.
We’re screwed as a country.