Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that air traffic controllers are feeling increasing pressure at work amid the government shutdown for which Republicans and Democrats are both holding each other responsible .
“I want them to think about the departures and arrivals of airplanes. I want to make sure they keep Americans, and airplanes, safe,” said Duffy during a press conference at Newark Liberty International airport in New Jersey on Monday. “But they’re not just thinking about the airspace, they’re thinking about: ‘Am I going to get a paycheck?’ ‘How am I going to pay my mortgage?’ ‘How do I make my car payment?’ ‘Do I have to take a second job and drive Uber?’”
Air traffic controllers would have typically received their next paycheck on Oct. 14, Duffy said, but they wil