Trump dismisses financial concerns of air traffic controllers working without pay for more than 40 days

President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his criticism of air traffic controllers who have been absent during parts of the record-long government shutdown, when they’re required to work without pay.

During a Fox News interview, Trump roundly dismissed the employees who in some cases have had to take on second jobs to pay their bills amid a funding lapse that will hit the six-week mark on Tuesday.

“You know, a lot of people who showed up also had a second job. They took a second job temporarily. But they all know the money’s coming, and the money was coming,” Trump told host Laura Ingraham.

Air traffic controllers are classified as essential government workers, meaning they must show for work during a shutdown, even though they’re not getting paid. Members of the military, who are also essential workers, have received paychecks during the funding lapse.

Trump has been inconsistent in recent remarks about backpay for federal employees when the government reopens.

He said last month that “it depends who we’re talking about,” when asked whether he supported back pay for federal employees, and that there “are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”

The Trump administration has also explored ways to prevent furloughed workers from getting back pay, despite a 2019 federal law requiring back pay, including through a draft memo last month that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said did not entitle federal workers to retroactive pay.

The memo appeared to contradict the Office of Management and Budget’s earlier guidance which indicated that in the event of a shutdown, federal workers would be paid for any lapses in pay.

Trump’s comments Monday on Fox News came after he urged air traffic controllers in a social media post earlier in the day to return to work, days after the Federal Aviation Administration began canceling flights at dozens of major U.S. airports in a move that officials said was intended offset staffing shortages.

Trump threatened to dock the pay of those who didn’t report to work, while saying that he would recommend $10,000 bonuses for those who hadn’t been absent during the shutdown.

“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He reiterated that sentiment on Fox News, saying, “I want to reward the people that showed up without a lot of nonsense, without a lot of talk.”

“They did their job and in many cases, they worked longer hours to get us through this period,” Trump added.

Asked how he would pay the bonuses, Trump said: “I don’t know. I’ll get it from some place.”

More broadly, Trump dismissed growing concerns about the economy among voters. After declaring that “the economy is the strongest it’s ever been,” Ingraham asked Trump why people are saying they’re anxious about the economy.

“I don’t know what they are saying,” Trump responded. “I think polls are fake. We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had.”

A recent NBC News poll found that about two-thirds of respondents nationwide said Trump hasn’t delivered on his promises to curb inflation and improve the economy.

The president also weighed in on the legal fight over funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, saying the program “really puts the company, the country, in jeopardy.”

He then expressed disdain for “able-bodied people” whom he claimed were leaving their jobs to obtain SNAP benefits.

“People that need it have to get it. I’m all for it, but people that are able-bodied, can do a job, they leave their job because they figure they can pick this up, it’s easier,” Trump said. “That’s not the purpose of it.”

The Trump administration on Monday filed a supplemental Supreme Court briefing seeking to extend a pause imposed last week to block full federal funding of food assistance program’s benefits to its roughly 42 million recipients.

The Senate passed a bill Monday night to reopen the government, with a provision that would ensure SNAP benefits are available through next September. The measure now heads to the House.