Trump suggests $10,000 reward for air traffic controllers who stayed on job

president Donald Trump He proposed giving a $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who remain on the job during the government shutdown despite their salaries being delayed.

Trump floated the idea of ​​rewarding air traffic controllers in a Truth Social post on Monday, when he wrote: “ALL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS MUST GET BACK TO WORK, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be grounded in a big way.”

“For those air traffic controllers who were great patriots and took no time off for the ‘Democratic Shutdown Hoax,’ I will recommend a reward of $10,000 per person for outstanding service to our country.”

The president added: “For those who did nothing but complain and took leave, even though everyone knew they would receive their full salaries, in the near future, I am not happy with you.”

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Trump discussed the idea in a Monday appearance on Fox News.Ingraham angleFlight attendant Laura Ingraham asked him if he was concerned about the shortage of air traffic controllers.

“We don’t have a big deficit,” Trump said, adding that “a lot of people want the job.”

“I wasn’t happy when I saw all those people,” Trump said. “We have to look. Life’s not that easy for anyone. Our country has never done better. We shouldn’t have people leaving their jobs.” “Basically what I did was those who stayed, and there were a lot of them, I sent them a $10,000 reward.”

Ingraham asked Trump where Money for those rewards It will come from, he replied: “I don’t know, I’ll get it from somewhere.”

“I always get money from somewhere no matter what. It doesn’t matter. We’ve done a lot of — I give a lot of bonuses to people, because it’s really something — it’s like the American way when you think about it,” the president said.

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Trump said he wanted to reward air traffic controllers who continued to show up for work despite losing pay during the shutdown. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

He added: “There is someone coming and going every day. Some of them came early because they knew there would be trouble.” “A lot of the people who came also got a second job. They got a second job temporarily, but they all knew the money was coming, and the money was coming.”

“So I want to reward the people who showed up without a lot of bullshit, without a lot of talk, they did their job, and in many cases, they worked longer hours to help us get through this period,” Trump said.

the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) The country saw a shortage of air traffic controllers during the government shutdown, which began on October 1.

While air traffic controllers are considered essential employees who have not been furloughed, they and most other federal workers have remained unpaid during the shutdown. Historically, federal workers who are not paid during the shutdown receive full pay once the shutdown ends.

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The shortage of air traffic controllers has prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to order airlines to reduce flights from 40 large airports by up to 10%. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The prolonged shutdown, which became the longest in U.S. history after surpassing the 35-day shutdown that ended in January 2019, has led to an increase in the number of controllers calling in or retiring.

The shortage of controllers available for work has created concerns about inadequate staffing levels and controller fatigue, resulting in… FAA to request local airlines To reduce 4% of its flights at 40 major airports starting Friday. That number has risen to 6% as of Tuesday and is set to rise to 10% next Friday if the lockdown does not end by then.

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The Senate passed a bill late Monday night to reopen the government, although the legislation still requires it Approval of the House of RepresentativesThe bill is expected to be voted on within the next few days, although it is still unclear when the vote will take place.