Daines: Major Flight Delays Coming as Shutdown Sets Historic Record

WASHINGTON, D.C.. — Senator Steve Daines warned Tuesday that major airline disruptions are imminent as what he calls the “Schumer Shutdown” reached day 35, setting up to break the all-time record for longest closure in American history.

Speaking exclusively with Western Montana News hours after Democrats blocked the 14th attempt to reopen the government, Daines said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is warning of significant flight delays starting next week.

“Secretary Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, is warning today there are going to be major flight delays starting next week,” Daines said. “We’re already starting to see delays in major airports, but this is going to continue to cascade and have a domino effect, and we’re going to see significant disruptions for the flying public next week.”

The warning comes as the four largest airlines—United, American, Delta and Southwest—have endorsed the Republican clean continuing resolution and called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reopen the government due to mounting operational pressures^1.

Shutdown Vote Count Climbs

During the Tuesday afternoon interview, Daines confirmed the vote count had just increased from 13 to 14 blocked attempts by Senate Democrats.

“We just moved from 13 attempts to actually 14 a few hours ago. We put the same bill on the floor, and they once again blocked it,” Daines said. “Keep in mind, this is the exact same clean CR that Democrats voted for when Biden was president.”

The Montana Republican suggested Democrats strategically wanted to maintain the shutdown past Tuesday’s major elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City to motivate their base.

“We knew they wanted to keep the government shutdown pass today, because you have big elections in Virginia and New Jersey for governor, and then, of course, that big mayor race in New York City, and they want to keep their far left base ginned up and motivated to turnout and vote,” Daines said.

Montana Impacts Mount

Beyond the 77,000 Montanans who lost SNAP benefits and the Blackfeet Nation’s emergency declaration, Daines detailed additional impacts across the state:

• Butte regional air service has been halted due to the shutdown
• Montana State University is awaiting $875,000 in ROTC scholarships, with students missing monthly living stipends since October 15
• Veteran surgeries at VA facilities are being delayed, including surgery for one of Daines’ own staff members
• Fort Belknap Head Start program lost funding, impacting 125 children in one of the state’s most rural areas
• Farm loan operations are halted while farmers must continue making payments on existing loans
• National park rangers and wildland firefighters continue working without pay

“It’s seems crazy that the loans can’t go out to farmers, but the farmers have to keep paying them back,” Daines said.

Airlines Pressure Democrats

Daines confirmed that major airlines are experiencing significant operational strain, with United CEO Scott Kirby telling reporters outside the White House that Congress should pass a clean continuing resolution.

Delta Air Lines called on Congress to “immediately pass a clean continuing resolution,” stating that “missed paychecks only increases the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure”^3.

American Airlines said the situation was “unacceptable” and warned that “a prolonged shutdown will lead to more delays and cancellations—and the American people, especially during the busy holiday season, deserve better”^4.

The pressure comes as Transportation Secretary Duffy has escalated warnings throughout the week, predicting “mass chaos” in the skies if air traffic controllers miss a second paycheck^2.

ACA Subsidies at Center of Standoff

When pressed on what would change the Democratic position, Daines criticized their use of Affordable Care Act subsidies as leverage.

“They’re using these Obamacare subsidies as a political tool to keep the government shut down,” Daines said. “But remember, these were temporary COVID-era subsidies. And 20% of these subsidies are estimated to be lost to fraud, and so we have no business to continue to perpetuate such a system that’s really rife with fraud.”

The senator said Democrats are demanding extension of $350 billion in subsidies without reforms to address underlying issues.

“It’s the failures of Obamacare that are causing these premiums to skyrocket,” Daines said. “We’ve seen premiums go up nearly 60, 70, 80% since Obamacare was passed, and so why would you want to keep dumping more money into a program that fundamentally is only driving health care costs up?”

Daines noted that insurance companies have a financial interest in maintaining the subsidies, which he said explains their political involvement.

“Remember these subsidies that the Democrats are fighting over go directly to the insurance company,” Daines said. “That’s why it’s the insurance companies that are spending a lot of money with attack ads right now in some of our key congressional districts—it’s insurance companies that are trying to prop these subsidies up.”

SNAP Reforms Already Underway

On fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Daines pointed to reforms already enacted in the “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law on July 4.

“We actually made some major reforms to address fraud in the bill,” Daines said. “We strengthen work requirements. We increased the age for work requirements. We also made sure it’s only for US citizens. We don’t believe that illegal immigrants should be getting taxpayer dollars.”

Historic Milestone Approaches

Wednesday will mark day 36 of the shutdown, officially setting the record for longest government closure in American history, surpassing the 35-day shutdown that occurred during Trump’s first term.

“Every day this shutdown drags on, it only gets worse for many Montana families,” Daines said. “It’s insanity that this shutdown has dragged out into November, ahead of the holiday season.”

The senator placed responsibility squarely on Senate Democrats: “You can’t shut the government down and use that as a hostage or leverage when you don’t like a particular outcome or policy from an administration.”