The Thanksgiving travel season could be put at risk by an extended government shutdown, Republican leaders warned Tuesday on Capitol Hill, ratcheting up warnings about flight cancellations and airport chaos amid the ongoing standoff with congressional Democrats.
Leaders in both parties are starting to look to the Thanksgiving holiday as a looming pressure point after President Donald Trump acted over the weekend to ensure active-duty military paychecks arrive on time Wednesday by shifting Pentagon funds. Many congressional leaders saw that deadline as a forcing mechanism. Now it appears ready to pass without major political consequences — raising the possibility the shutdown could drag on for weeks more.
“As TSA agents and air traffic controllers show up without pay, Democrats brag they won’t budge until planes fall out of the sky,” said Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), the GOP conference chair. “Really? Seriously?”
The current shutdown, which began Oct. 1, would have to blow past the record of 35 days set in 2019 to threaten Thanksgiving, which falls on Nov. 27. Air traffic controllers and airport security personnel are working during the shutdown but going unpaid, and personnel have reported sick at higher rates or otherwise not shown up to work under similar circumstances in the past.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and other leaders said Tuesday those impacts had already started and would escalate as time goes on and on.
“Airports will be flooded with flight cancellations and delays amid the busiest time time to travel all year, and the list goes on and on,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said alongside Speaker Mike Johnson at a news conference Tuesday, calling on Democrats to “reopen our government.”
