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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that America’s biggest unions are pleading with Democrats to reopen the federal government as the nation enters the 35th day of the ongoing shutdown.
“Our nation’s four largest airlines – United, Delta, American, and Southwest – have now ALL endorsed the Republican nonpartisan clean funding bill to end the government shutdown,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.
She continued, “Major unions collectively representing tens of thousands of pilots have also joined the airlines in calling on Democrats to pass the clean nonpartisan CR.”
According to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, these key unions – organizations that traditionally lean Democrat – include the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Association of Air Traffic Controllers, the NetJets Association of Shared Airline Pilots, the Allied Pilots Association, the New York Steamfitters Union, the Teamsters Union, and many others.
Leavitt also revealed that the American travel industry has joined the campaign to pressure Democrats to vote to reopen the government.
“The travel industry is also imploring Democrats to end the shutdown and reopen the government,” she stated. “Nearly 500 companies and groups in the travel business, including casinos, hotels, and convention bureaus, signed a public letter warning that America’s travel economy has already lost $4 billion due to this Democrat shutdown.”
This letter was published in the Wall Street Journal and strongly demanded that Democrats reopen the government before the chaos of the Thanksgiving holiday season.
The letter, signed by travel industry giants like Hilton, MGM Resorts, and Delaware North, explained, “A continued shutdown is likely to significantly suppress travel demand and spending, creating a real threat to American workers, businesses, and the overall economy.”
Leavitt told reporters in the briefing room, “Never before have we seen private industry and union leadership so unified on the same issue, rallying behind Republicans in such a vocal way. The Democrats have completely lost the plot.”
So far, Democrats have voted against a clean continuing resolution in the U.S. Senate 13 times. If they do not vote to reopen the government after Tuesday, this will officially become the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history, exceeding the 35-day shutdown during President Trump’s first term in the White House.