Shutdown Politics, Air Traffic Control Issues, Comey Arraignment

The government shutdown is now in its second week, and President Trump is threatening to fire federal workers.

Democrats say they won't fund the government without a deal on health care, but neither side is even talking.

I am Michelle Martin.

That's A.

Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News.

Air traffic control towers are going dark, and pilots are left scrambling for instructions.

Is it because of the shutdown that you guys have?

Why the government shutdown is making an already severe staffing crisis at airports worse.

And former FBI Director James Comey heads to court today to face felony charges that were only brought after President Trump fired a prosecutor who would not bring them.

I'm innocent.

So let's have a trial.

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It's day eight of the government shutdown and still no end in sight.

Democrats continue to insist on negotiations for extending subsidies that help people buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans continue to say they'll talk when the government is back open.

Meanwhile, President Trump is saying this about Democrats.

You want to know the truth?

This is like a kamikaze attack.

They

almost, you know, they have nothing to lose.

MPR's Domenico Montanaro is looking at whether there's any way out of this shutdown.

So, Domenico, with President Trump talking like that, how do the two sides even get to talking?

Yeah, I mean, Trump shows no signs of budging here.

I mean, aside from his language about Democrats, he and his budget office director are threatening permanent layoffs of some federal workers, even floating the possibility that the government might not give back pay to some furloughed workers.

That's something that's in pretty hot dispute right now.

And they're moving to cut off funding from blue states for various projects.

You know, Trump has been trying to give the impression that congressional leaders are talking, but there's really no indication that that's even happening right now.

So it looks more like a game of chicken with the administration feeling like it can weather this politically and lay the blame on Democrats squarely.

All right, so how are congressional leaders responding to that?

Well, on the Republican side, you know, they're calling Democrats demands too much.

Here's how Speaker Mike Johnson.

It is a wild wish list of big government liberal nonsense that we can't do.

You know, Republicans keep saying that they want to reopen the government and then negotiate, but calling what Democrats want big government liberal nonsense makes a lot of Democrats skeptical that Republicans really want to negotiate at all.

What he seems to be hoping for here, Johnson, is really cracks among Democrats.

So is there any evidence that that even exists?

To an extent.

I mean, we've seen a few who caucus with the Democrats, who have been voting with Republicans to reopen the government.

Senators Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King, an independent from Maine.

But that hasn't been growing.

You know, largely Democrats are sticking together because they feel like they have an advantage on health care.

Unlike a decade ago, the Affordable Care Act is actually really popular now, and Democratic leaders want to drill home the point that they're in favor of extending ACA subsidies and Republicans are not.

Here's Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer yesterday.

The bottom line is very simple.

We want them extended.

They don't want them extended.

And we saw House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries even go so far this week as to challenge Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to a televised debate on the House floor.

Johnson turned that down, needless to say, calling it, quote, pathetic and a publicity stunt.

Are there any signs to kind of indicate which side appears to have the advantage when it comes to convincing voters that they're right or wrong?

Yeah, it's tricky because polling has found Republicans getting more of the blame, but not near a majority, and there are a lot of undecideds.

Shutdowns usually don't go well for the side looking to add things that are not in a bill like Democrats are doing here.

2019 shutdown, for example, Trump made it about funding for the border wall and eventually with 50 plus percent blaming him and air traffic controllers calling out sick, he agreed to a short-term reopening of the government.

So Domenico, you look at this all the time.

Any way out of this shutdown?

You know, I basically see three scenarios here.

First, enough moderate Democratic senators cross over, which could happen if public pressure becomes too much.

Second, Republicans overstep, go too far with these firings and other efforts, get more of the blame for things like airport delays and feel pressured to negotiate now.

Or third, both parties reach a temporary deal and commit to negotiate on these subsidies.

But it's going to come down to politics and the messaging that wins out.

That's NPR's Domenico Montenaro.

Thanks a lot.

You got it.

It's been a tough week for the air traffic control system in the United States.

Collapse at 103, standby.

That's an air traffic controller at the Hollywood Burbank airport on Monday.

Explaining to pilots that the local tower was about to close because of a staffing shortage.

Grounds closed, local's closed.

The tower is closed due to staffing.

So you just contact SoCal in the 800 number in the green book for your clearance.

All right.

Some of those pilots sound surprised, as you can hear in this archived audio recording from the website liveatc.net.

It's for staffing.

That led to major delays at just that one airport on Monday, and the government shutdown is only making commercial aviation issues even worse.

NPR transportation correspondent Joel Rose has been following what's happening in the skies and also on the ground.

Joel, what kind of delays are you seeing?

Yeah, the Federal Aviation Administration says that staffing shortages caused delays at several airports again yesterday, including a full ground stop for a while at the airport in Nashville.

Also, we saw delays at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and Dallas Love Field.

And we are looking at the possibility of more delay today.

You know, I should note the FAA will limit the number of planes in the air in order to keep the system safe.

But that said, it is probably not a great week for getting where you need to go on time.

Can this squarely be laid on the feet of the government shutdown or are there deeper problems?

Yeah, there was already a nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, which has nothing to do with this government shutdown.

Staffing is several thousand controllers short of where the FAA and the Controllers Union say it should be.

Nearly 11,000 certified controllers do have to work during the shutdown, but they do not get paid until it ends.

And during the last one of these in 2019, we saw controllers calling in sick in higher than normal numbers, especially once that stoppage dragged on past a month.

And that caused serious delays at airports on the East Coast and may have played a key role in bringing that shutdown to an end.

There has been an uptick in the number of controllers calling in sick this week, according to federal officials.

And it does not take huge numbers to have a big impact on a system that is already so short-staffed.

Yeah, what about rural airports?

Tell us what's happening there.

Yeah, there is a federal program that subsidizes flights to rural airports.

It's called the Essential Air Service Program.

The Trump administration says that program will run out of money as soon as this weekend if the shutdown continues.

And that could be a big deal for the almost 170 communities around the country that are part of this program, including more than 60 in Alaska alone.

I talked to Daniel Friedenzone about this.

He's a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.

It provides airline service to communities that probably would not have it.

So it is important from the community's perspective.

And I think that's partly why the Congress generally has been so supportive of it.

But all that said, it is not clear exactly how much of an immediate impact this funding lapse could have.

At least one major carrier, Alaska Airlines, says it will continue flights for now, even without this subsidy.

And it is likely that the smaller regional airlines that operate most of these flights would do the same, at least in the short run.

You know, and one other thing I want to note: the White House proposed cutting more than $300 million in funding from this program earlier this year, even though the program does have broad bipartisan support in Congress.

That's NPR's Joel Rose.

Joel, thanks.

Thank you.

All right, today, the former director of the FBI will appear in a federal courthouse for arraignment on two felony charges.

James Comey has been a fierce critic of President Trump and was a top official in the Justice Department that's now prosecuting him.

Comey's arraignment comes a day after the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, refused to tell senators whether she talked with Trump about bringing charges against Comey.

MPR's Carrie Johnson is following this.

So, Carrie, what will you be watching for in court today?

This is really just the beginning of the legal process.

The former FBI Director Jim Comey will be read the charges against him and perhaps learn a bit more detail about them.

A grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia approved two charges against Comey and rejected a third one.

The charges that stuck are one count of allegedly making a false statement to Congress five years ago and one count of obstructing the congressional investigation.

This indictment came down only days before the statute of limitations had been set to expire and only after President Trump had publicly pressured the Justice Department to hurry up with the case.

In court today, Comey can formally enter a plea, which we expect to be not guilty.

Here's a recent video statement from Comey.

My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I'm innocent.

So let's have a trial.

Now, Kerry, I remember reading the actual indictment.

It was a quick read, light on specific details.

What do we know about what evidence prosecutors have gathered?

It's really been hard to tell exactly which facts gave rise to these charges.

They seem to be about a media leak several years ago.

And people who worked inside the Justice Department, both Republicans and Democrats, have been publicly doubting the strength of this case.

For example, Andy McCarthy at the National Review has been very skeptical the case will even get to a trial.

Remember, last month, career prosecutors in Virginia said it did not meet the bar for indictment.

Then the White House forced out the leader of the office and installed one of the president's former personal attorneys, Lindsey Halligan.

Halligan seems to have appeared before this grand jury herself, even though she has no prosecutorial experience.

We learned overnight she's bringing in two prosecutors from North Carolina to help with the Comey case, suggesting perhaps no one in Virginia wanted to touch it.

And they're going to be facing off against Comey's lawyer, Pat Fitzgerald, who once prosecuted major national security and corruption cases.

Now, President Trump has called James Comey Comey some insulting names.

He's said he's a dirty cop.

How will the president factor into this criminal prosecution?

Donald Trump will not be in the courtroom, but he could be a main character, especially if Comey and his lawyer decide to make an argument about selective or vindictive prosecution.

Basically, that Comey would not have been prosecuted except for Trump's antagonism.

The president's own words on social media and video could help advance that argument.

Attorney General Pam Bondi got a lot of questions about Trump's remarks on Capitol Hill yesterday.

Here's a listen.

President Trump is the most transparent president in American history.

And I don't think he said anything that he hasn't said for years.

Of course, Jim Comey could also challenge the indictment itself because it seems some odd things may have happened before the grand jury, like the new prosecutor signing documents that conflicted with each other.

Comey could also argue that Lindsay Halligan, the U.S.

attorney in Virginia, was not legally appointed, so anything she did, including this indictment, would not be valid.

Lots to look out for.

That's NPR's Carrie Johnson.

Carrie, thanks.

Thank you.

And that's Up First for Wednesday, October 8th.

I'm Emmaz.

And I'm Michelle Martin.

The news doesn't end when this episode does.

At NPR, we take you deeper into the stories shaping all of our lives and the news that keeps breaking long after the morning rush.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Kelsey Snell, Russell Lewis, Kristen F.

Callamore, Mohamed El Bardisi, and Alice Woofly.

It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas, and Christopher Thomas.

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