Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to reporters on day 23 of the government shutdown, joined by, from left, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Duffy later said at a press conference Tuesday, "I think we’re getting to the point of extremism. And it does beg the question for me again, what are the Democrats fighting for?
"Let's fight for America. Let's not fight for health care for illegal immigrants, illegal aliens. I think that's a wrong approach. And listen, I spent almost ten years in Congress. There are political differences. Those political differences are very real. And the way you resolve those differences is not taking hostages. It's actually opening up the government and having a conversation. What can we work out? What compromises can we make?" Duffy added.
The Senate may vote on a bill this week from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would pay air traffic controllers, but so far, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has not teed it up. Thune said Republicans would "see what the temperature is of our senators" on that and other funding issues, but he reiterated that the easiest way to pay all federal workers would be to reopen the government.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., echoed a sentiment many Senate Democrats have shared about Cruz's bill and others like it that would incrementally fund parts of the government; it can't give President Donald Trump "carte blanche to do what he wants."
A United Airlines Boeing 737 departs from Los Angeles International Airport en route to Denver, with the air traffic control tower in the background, on Oct. 17, 2025. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
When asked by Fox News Digital about criticism from Republicans over congressional Democrats' role in air traffic controllers missing a pay day, he said, "Air traffic controllers have been really admirable in coming to work and doing their job."
Cruz said he hoped his bill would get a shot, and when asked what his message to Republicans would be to get the bill on the floor, he said, "That the Democrats not paying air traffic controllers is reckless."
Some 13,000 air traffic controllers are employed across the U.S. Many already work six days per week, as the industry faces a long-simmering shortage of employees.
