Summary
The U.S. government shutdown has become the longest ever, surpassing the previous record set in 2019. Senate Republicans are meeting with President Trump to discuss ways to end the shutdown, which has led to significant air travel disruptions.
Key Facts
- The government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history, lasting over 36 days.
- Senate Republicans met with President Trump, who wants to change the Senate's rules to bypass Democrats.
- A House-passed bill to end the shutdown has failed 14 times in the Senate.
- Air travel is heavily affected, with over 3.2 million passengers facing delays and cancellations.
- 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers are working without pay due to the shutdown.
- Airline companies are pushing for a temporary funding solution to ease travel disruptions.
- Transportation Secretary warned of potential closure of U.S. airspace if safety continues to decline.
- The previous longest shutdown was 35 days in 2018-2019, during a dispute over border wall funding.
