Speaking with journalists on Air Force One en route to Japan on Monday, President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown and resulting air traffic controller shortages. Asked whether there was a way for the government to pay air traffic controllers as the key employees miss paychecks, the president replied, "Yeah, there is," though did not elaborate on how those controllers could be paid. Trump instead pivoted to blaming Democrats for the shutdown and called on Democrats to vote for a clean continuing resolution to fund the government. "The Democrats can solve that problem with air traffic control," he said. "All they have to do is say, 'The country's open'. We only need five votes. The Republicans are with us. We only need five votes. So let's see what happens."

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