With shutdown looming, Tuberville, Buttigieg trade jabs

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - With a partial government shutdown looming, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is warning that failure to reach a deal could jeopardize the nation’s transportation system – especially air travel.

The federal government runs out of money at midnight on Sunday, and the gap between the Biden administration and House Republicans appears wide.

“If House Republicans make good on their threat to shut down the government, from day one, air traffic controllers … would not be getting paid,” Buttigieg told FOX10 News. “And if you think about how important that job is, think about how we count on air traffic controllers to keep the system running.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said he does not want a shutdown. He noted that the Senate passed 12 separate spending bills out of committee and faulted Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for not bringing them to the Senate floor one by one.

As for Buttigieg, the senator fired back.

“Secretary Buttigieg with his hand-off approach to transportation, he’s done more damage than anyone could do to our transportation system – from trucking to trains to planes,” he said on a conference call with reporters. “We’ve got a lot of problems right now. … So, I’d like for him to do his job.”

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