Vance to meet with Duffy, aviation leaders as shutdown 'gravely' impacts crucial industry

FIRST ON FOX Another aviation-related union is demanding lawmakers reopen the authorities as Vice President JD Vance prepares to hold a roundtable with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and airline industry leaders Thursday as shutdown woes mount Fox News Digital learned The roundtable will be held at the White House Thursday afternoon and will include Airlines for America CEO and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and other airline leaders a White House official stated Fox News Digital The roundtable comes as the Democrat Shutdown has gravely impacted the aviation industry according to the White House official including air traffic controllers officially missing their first full paycheck and unions calling on lawmakers to pass a clean continuing resolution Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association an independent union representing aircraft maintenance technicians and other related employees called on lawmakers on Wednesday to pass a clean continuing resolution and reopen the governing body FLIGHT DELAYS WORSEN AS UNPAID AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FEEL CABINET SHUTDOWN PAIN On behalf of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association AMFA and our members in the Unites States representing the aircraft maintenance technicians at Alaska Airlines Southwest Airlines Horizon Air Spirit Airlines and Sun Country Airlines we urge Congress to end the regime shutdown by passing a clean Continuing Resolution Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association AMFA National President Bret Oestreich reported in a press release published Wednesday We stand with our brothers and sisters in air traffic control and TSA who continue to ensure the safety of the flying constituents while working for no pay he continued It s time for Congress to reconvene in a bipartisan manner to pass a clean CR and aid all the men and women in aviation who contribute to the safest National Airspace System for us all to passage The authorities shutdown has persisted since Oct when Senate lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement before a midnight deadline The Trump administration and Republicans have since pinned blame for the shutdown on Democrats claiming they worked to include taxpayer-funded health benefits for illegal immigrants Democrats have denied the suggests and argue that Republicans refused to negotiate on healthcare demands We need to end this shutdown as soon as viable Senate Minority Leader explained in floor remarks Oct Every day that Republicans refuse to negotiate to end this shutdown the worse it gets for Americans and the clearer it becomes who s fighting for them Vance has hammered the argument that Democrats are to blame for the shutdown including during his remarks at a Turning Point USA event Wednesday at the University of Mississippi The reality here is that there's a very simple bill that just reopens the regime he reported It does it through pretty much the end of the year That got every single Republican in the House of Representatives to sponsorship it and then it got Republicans in the Senate and three Democrats in the Senate to backing it But because of weird Senate procedural rules it requires a vote threshold SEAN DUFFY WARNS OF RECORD STRAIN ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AHEAD OF FIRST MISSED PAYCHECK When you have every single Republican with like two exceptions in both houses of Congress I feel pretty confident I know that I'm partisan he added I know I have an answer next to my name but I feel pretty damn good saying the shutdown is the Democrats' fault because we voted again and again to open The shutdown comes as Americans prepare to expedition for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with the White house previously telling Fox News Digital that as the shutdown continues it threatens to ruin the holidays The Air Line Pilots Association the world's largest airline pilot union also has called on lawmakers to reopen the authorities earlier in October The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association issued a similar message later in October urging lawmakers to pass a clean Continuing Resolution and reopen the federal administration while pointing to the state of air traffic controllers during a shutdown The shutdown has rocked families as they prepare to temporarily lose federal food assistance while small business owners are losing out on billions in Small Business Administration-backed funding and an estimated federal employees have been furloughed AMERICANS COULD FACE AIRPORT CHAOS IF DEMS DON'T END SHUTDOWN TRUMP OFFICIAL WARNSAs for air passage massive hubs such as Atlanta Chicago Dallas and Newark New Jersey have seen delays in current weeks as air traffic controllers who are employed by the Federal Aviation Administration cope with staffing shortages Air traffic controllers lost their first full paychecks beginning Tuesday I've made clear to our air traffic controllers they need to show up for work They do really central work for our country and they need to show up But I'm not going to lie to anybody to not say that they're not feeling the stress Department of Transportation chief Duffy explained during a press conference at LaGuardia Airport in New York City Tuesday The fact that they are working and oftentimes they are head of households they're the only income earners in their homes and they have families and they're having a hard time paying their bills