President Donald Trump, speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Japan on Monday, blamed Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown and the resulting air traffic controller shortage.
When asked if there was a way for the government to pay air traffic controllers since key employees were not receiving their salaries, the president replied, “Yes, there is a way,” but did not elaborate on how the controllers would be paid.
Trump shifted the blame for the shutdown to Democrats and called on them to vote for a clean continuing resolution to fund the government.
“The Democrats can fix this with air traffic control,” he said. “All they have to do is say, ‘The country is open.’ We only need five votes. The Republicans are with us. We only need five votes. So, we’ll see.”
Trump added, “I think it’s going to be fixed, not just for the controllers, but for everybody else as well.”
This article is excerpted from ABC News.
