One Republican chose to drive nearly 1,000 miles in the cold on his motorcycle instead of risking his flight being canceled or delayed.
FAA cuts disrupt travel, causing more than 10,000 flight delays
More than 10,000 flights were delayed and 3,200 canceled on Nov. 9 as the FAA implemented new flight reductions in response to the government shutdown.
WASHINGTON – Congress itself has a good old chicken-and-egg problem in coming out of the government shutdown.
Speaker Mike Johnson needs enough House members to return to Washington by Wednesday night to vote on reopening the government.
The problem: All members of Congress may not be able to return to Washington, D.C., in time for their duties due to widespread travel issues caused by the government shutdown.
For nearly two months, many House members have been living in their districts while the Speaker has kept them away from Washington and their day job voting on legislation. This pressure tactic was aimed at forcing Democratic senators to return to power without major concessions from Republicans.
By Sunday, when senators reached a bipartisan agreement to end the historic crisis, nearly half of domestic flights had been canceled or delayed.
It didn’t take long for Johnson to change his marching orders.
“We need to start by getting back on the Hill now,” he said in a message to lawmakers Monday morning. “We have to do this as soon as possible.”
Lawmakers choose to carpool or ride bikes
One Republican lawmaker was so worried about his flight being delayed that he chose to drive his motorcycle about 950 miles back to the nation’s capital instead of going all the way to the airport.
Congressman Derrick Van Orden left his home state of Wisconsin on Monday night for a nearly 15-hour voyage in subzero temperatures.
“Derrick, you might be wondering why you’re riding a Harley-Davidson when it’s 32 degrees outside,” he said in a video posted to social media from somewhere along the Mississippi River. “The planes are so unreliable because they shut down the government, the Democratic Party.”
“It’s going to be a little cold,” he said.
Republican Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas and Rep. Trent Kelly of Mississippi decided to carpool back to the nation’s capital.
“8 hours left!” Crawford posted on social media Tuesday just after 2 p.m. At this point, more than 2,000 flights within and outside the United States were delayed, according to data tracking firm FlightAware. At one point, more than 1,2000 people were canceled.
Airports in New York City, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. bore the brunt of Tuesday’s chaos.
Flight cuts are already hurting lawmakers.
Flight delays have already disrupted Congressional proceedings during the government shutdown.
Even after lawmakers agreed to end the shutdown Sunday night, the chamber did not adjourn until after 11 p.m. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the lone yes vote, was still getting off the plane in Virginia as other senators cast their votes. He blamed the Democratic Party for his tardiness.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters in recent weeks that two flights were diverted at the last minute, something she had never seen before in her decades-long career as a Congresswoman.
Contributed by Jeanine Santucci and N’dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY. Reuters
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
