Major Blow to Chuck Schumer as Delta Airlines Sides With Republicans, Urging Immediate Action to Reopen Government and Pay Federal Aviation Workers
A major voice in American aviation has entered the political crossfire of Washington’s ongoing shutdown drama — and it’s not what Senate Democrats wanted to hear. Delta Air Lines, one of the country’s largest carriers, issued a sharp public statement on October 30, 2025, directly calling on Congress to pass a “clean continuing resolution” — the same plan backed by House and Senate Republicans — to end the shutdown and restore pay to federal aviation workers who are being stretched to their limits.
The statement marked one of the most forceful corporate interventions yet in the budget stalemate that began October 1, when Senate Democrats blocked a GOP-backed spending measure amid clashes over President Trump’s fiscal policies. As the impasse nears its fifth week, more than 800,000 federal employees — including Transportation Security Administration officers, Customs and Border Protection agents, and air traffic controllers — have gone without pay. For Delta, that situation has crossed from political gridlock into a matter of public safety.
“Delta Air Lines implores Congress to immediately pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government so that our air traffic controllers, TSA, and CBP officers charged with the safety and efficiency of our national airspace can collect the paychecks they deserve,” the airline said in a formal statement reported by Fox Business and Reuters. The message, though carefully worded, left little doubt that the company’s frustration is directed squarely at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus, who have resisted the Republican plan to fund the government without new Democratic spending add-ons.
The airline’s tone was blunt, noting that “missed paychecks only increase the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure.” The company highlighted that more than 550,000 passengers rely on Delta’s 5,000 daily flights, emphasizing the risk to efficiency, safety, and service if critical federal personnel remain unpaid. Delta executives said the airline stands “fully aligned with the FAA in our shared mission of safe flight operations,” but warned that a system “under stress must be slowed down,” which inevitably means more delays and reduced reliability for travelers across the country.
This statement places Delta on the same side as the airline unions, Republican lawmakers, and even FAA officials who have urged a quick reopening. Analysts note that Delta’s public break from the cautious neutrality most major corporations maintain during political disputes underscores how serious the operational pressure has become. Every day of shutdown adds financial strain to airlines that depend on fully staffed air traffic networks and airport security teams to maintain schedules.
Republican senators including JD Vance and Josh Hawley have cited Delta’s remarks as proof that Democratic leadership is losing ground — even among industries that typically avoid siding with either party. “When the private sector starts begging Washington to do its job, you know Schumer’s gridlock has gone too far,” one GOP strategist told Fox Digital. President Trump, who has been calling for immediate passage of the Republican bill since mid-October, reposted several supportive comments from airline employees on Truth Social late Thursday night, praising Delta’s “courage to speak up for workers and passengers.”
Meanwhile, the Senate remains deadlocked. Schumer has refused to bring the GOP’s standalone funding measure to a floor vote, insisting on broader budget negotiations that include Democratic priorities on climate, healthcare, and social spending. But the political optics are shifting rapidly — a major U.S. airline now standing alongside the Republican position gives the opposition fresh momentum heading into November.
Delta’s message was clear and rooted in urgency: reopen the government, pay the people who keep America’s skies moving, and stop playing politics with safety. For millions of travelers — and thousands of federal workers counting the days between paychecks — that plea couldn’t come soon enough.
