Overview
- Flight reductions begin Friday after the FAA reported severe staffing gaps, with major facilities missing 20–40% of air traffic controllers on some shifts.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that continued shortages could force closures of parts of U.S. airspace and said the system would be halted if safety cannot be assured.
- Airlines and the FAA met to coordinate the cutbacks, as weeks of delays and cancellations mounted and TSA staffing shortfalls strained airport screening.
- Roughly 42 million SNAP recipients face disrupted food assistance and hundreds of thousands of federal employees are unpaid or furloughed as the shutdown drags on.
- President Donald Trump has rejected Democratic demands and urged ending the Senate filibuster, a move opposed by GOP leader John Thune, leaving negotiations uncertain despite occasional signals of movement.