Trump suggests $10,000 reward for air traffic controllers who stayed on job

President Donald Trump suggested giving a $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who remain on the job through the government shutdown despite having their paychecks delayed.

Trump floated the idea of rewarding controllers in a post on Truth Social on Monday, when he wrote, “All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially ‘docked.'”

“For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country.”

“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” the president added.

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President Trump proposed giving air traffic controllers who kept working during the shutdown a $10,000 bonus. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Trump discussed the idea in a Monday appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” and was asked by host Laura Ingraham whether he’s concerned about the shortage of air traffic controllers.

“We don’t have much of a deficit,” Trump said, adding that “a lot of people want the job.”

“I was not happy when I saw all these people, we have to – look, life is not so easy for anybody. Our country has never done better. We should not have had people leaving their jobs,” Trump said. “And what I basically did is say the ones that stayed, of which there were a lot of them, I’m sending them a $10,000 bonus.”

Ingraham asked Trump where the money for those bonuses would come from, and he replied, “I don’t know, I’ll get it from someplace.”

“I always get the money from someplace regardless. It doesn’t matter. We did a lot of – I do a lot of bonuses for people, because it’s really something that – it’s like the American way when you think about it,” the president said.

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Trump said he wants to reward the air traffic controllers who kept showing up to work despite missing paychecks during the shutdown. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Here’s somebody that goes and shows up every single day. Some of them showed up early because they knew there was going to be a problem,” he added. “A lot of the people that showed up also had a second job. They took a second job temporarily, but they all know the money’s coming, and the money was coming.”

“So I want to reward the people that showed up without a lot of nonsense, without a lot of talk, they did their job, and in many cases, they worked longer hours to get us through this period,” Trump said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has experienced a shortage of air traffic controllers during the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. 

While air traffic controllers are considered essential employees who weren’t subject to furloughs, they and most other federal workers went without pay during the shutdown. Historically, federal workers who are unpaid during a shutdown receive full back pay once the shutdown ends.

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The shortage of air traffic controllers prompted the FAA to order airlines to cut flights from 40 high-volume airports by up to 10%. (Saul Loeb/AFP / Getty Images)

The protracted shutdown, which became the longest in U.S. history after it surpassed the 35-day shutdown that ended in January 2019, led to an increase in controllers calling out of work or retiring.

The shortage of controllers available to work created concerns about insufficient staffing levels and overburdened controllers, which led the FAA to order domestic airlines to cut 4% of their flights at 40 major airports starting on Friday. That figure increased to 6% as of Tuesday and is slated to rise to 10% this coming Friday if the shutdown hasn’t ended by then.

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The Senate passed a bill late Monday night to reopen the government, though the legislation still requires approval by the House, which is expected to vote on the bill in the next few days, though it remains unclear when the vote will occur.