Copyright Cable News Network
GOP leaders are confident the government funding bill will pass the House tonight despite their razor-thin majority and the potential of at least one defection, according to Republican sources. Republicans in Congress could only afford to lose two GOP votes along straight party lines — and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie is widely expected to vote against the funding bill. Massie declined to comment to CNN when asked how he would vote. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, the lone who Democrat who voted for the GOP stopgap bill in September, is a potential defector and could join Republicans on this vote despite the effort by Democratic leaders to whip their members against it. There could be other potential Democratic defectors, the sources said. The bill’s final passage is expected around 7:30 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET but could slip. One air traffic control staffing problem was reported Wednesday morning as travelers wait to see if controllers keep showing up for work as Congress works to end the government shutdown. The staffing problem Wednesday morning was reported at the Federal Aviation Administration facility which handles flights approaching or departing Newark Liberty International Airport, from 7 a.m. ET to 10 a.m. ET. The operation has seen challenges with staffing for years and reported the most problems during the shutdown. Delays are not expected, the FAA said. Yesterday, only five reports of air traffic control staffing problems were noted in FAA operations plans, dramatically down from the 40 seen on Monday and 63 on Saturday. There have been 642 reports of short staffing since the start of the shutdown, more than six times as many as were reported on the same dates last year. Controllers are considered essential employees and must report to work but will not be paid until after the government reopens. The House of Representatives will today return to the chamber after nearly two months to begin voting on the Senate-passed bill to reopen the federal government. The vote will take place as early as 4 p.m. ET. Once passed in the House, the bill will go to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. But things may not be so clear-cut. Speaker Mike Johnson faces an extremely narrow majority and can only afford to lose two GOP votes — and he’ll likely need the president’s help to push it through. And Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have vowed to fight the package because it does not go as far as many wanted on health care demands. We’ll bring you the latest updates as we get them. Read more about the next steps here. About 880 flights within the US have been canceled as of 7:30 a.m. ET, tracking data shows, and more than 440 flights have been delayed. The country’s top airlines preemptively canceled hundreds of flights in response to the Federal Aviation Administration’s emergency order for flight operations to be cut by 6% at 40 major airports. Southwest Airlines: Roughly 145 flights set for today have been canceled, according to a Monday update. About 150 flights were canceled yesterday, the airline said. Delta Air Lines: The Atlanta-based airline expects to run the majority of its schedule today, a Delta spokesperson told CNN, adding that all “planned FAA-directed cancellations” are complete through Thursday. Nearly 100 Delta flights were canceled yesterday, according to FlightAware. United Airlines: For today, 271 flights have been called off, according to a United spokesperson. Yesterday saw 269 United cancellations, the airline said. American Airlines: The airline canceled about 200 flights yesterday and another 200 cancellations are set for today, American said in an earlier update. Until a deal to end the federal government shutdown is officially inked, airlines must continue to follow the FAA’s order to incrementally reduce flight capacity by 10% by Friday. Airlines must cancel flights seven days before they are scheduled to fly, according to the FAA order. Once flights are canceled and passengers are informed, they cannot be easily reinstated. The FAA ordered the flight reductions in response to staffing shortages driven by the shutdown — during which air traffic controllers arerequired to work without pay. A record number of controllers have taken unscheduled time off, resulting in hourslong delays for travelers. Video Ad Feedback Rep.-elect Grijalva plans to ‘personally’ confront Speaker Johnson over delayed swearing-in 01:17 • Source: CNN Rep.-elect Grijalva plans to ‘personally’ confront Speaker Johnson over delayed swearing-in 01:17 House Speaker Mike Johnson will swear in Arizona Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva around 4 p.m. ET, according to an advisory from the speaker’s office. Her seating will take place seven weeks after she was elected to fill the Arizona seat left vacant by her late father, and follows repeated demands from Democrats for the speaker to swear her in. The Arizona attorney general last month filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Johnson to seat her. Johnson has defended his decision to delay Grijalva’s swearing in by arguing that she won her race on September 23 when the House was already out of session amid the shutdown. He vowed to do so as soon as the House returned to Washington. Grijalva has said one of her first moves in office will be to provide the pivotal signature on a petition to force a floor vote on legislation compelling the federal government to release the Jeffrey Epstein case files.
