Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened penalties for air traffic controllers who failed to show up for work for during the government shutdown.
At Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday, a reporter asked Duffy about President Donald Trump’s plans to dock the pay of air traffic controllers who are calling in sick during the government shutdown.
“My concern is, for those air traffic controllers who, before they missed a paycheck, and were in the shutdown, they decided on a continual basis not to show up for work,” Duffy replied. “They don’t know how long the shutdown was going to be, they hadn’t missed a pay period, and they didn’t come to work.”
“I’m concerned about their dedication. I’m concerned about their patriotism,” Duffy later added of the employees who skipped work.
Noting that the Trump administration hasn’t “made a decision” about specific penalties, Duffy allowed that he was “trying to bring more air traffic controllers in,” but warned, “if we have controllers who systemically weren’t doing their job, we will take action.”
