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‘Normalized’ partisanship, government shutdowns raise risks for aviation

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/20/26 3:01 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/20/26 3:01 PM ET

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Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R), the CEO of Airlines for America, on Wednesday warned about the impact on American aviation caused by partisanship and government shutdowns, with the latter seemingly becoming more frequent.

“This is the scariest part –– that unfortunately, this is becoming more normalized,” said Sununu, who, along with Larsen, was among several speakers at The Hill’s “Red, Flight & Blue: The Future of U.S. Aviation,” sponsored by Airlines for America. “Two in one year is completely unprecedented.”

The former governor referred to the historic government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and lasted 43 days. On May 1, a funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security ended after a whopping 76 days. Both shutdowns resulted in air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees walking away from the job following weeks or months with no pay. The last shutdown saw more than 1,000 TSA employees quit.

“They’re absolutely pointless, and everyone faces the penalty,” Sununu said about shutdowns while speaking with The Hill’s Bill Sammon, one of the event’s moderators. “So why does it happen? Because of this new third political party. There’s Republicans, there’s Democrats and there’s populism.”

Sununu said populist lawmakers “are creating havoc on the system” as a means to get their names on news headlines. He warned that the disruption affects the economy, slows things down and disrupts shipping and travel. Without the disruptions caused by shutdowns, all of these systems run smoothly, he argued.

Larsen, the ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, praised his committee for standing in contrast to the populism and hyperpartisanship Sununu raised, calling the panel an “island of partnership in a sea of partisanship,” with members leaving their “baggage outside the room.”

“If you want to be on TV in the District of Columbia, there’s plenty of committees for that,” Larsen told The Hill’s Sarah Fortinsky, another event moderator. “If you want to be on TV in your district, we’re the committee for that. We’ll send you home with things to say, what you’ve been doing on the Transportation Committee.”

The Washington state Democrat said he is not immune to all the typical problems Americans face when traveling, from delays to technical problems, but he said he has told members of Congress to not foist their own problems on their work.

“I try to tell members of Congress and the committee as well, when you’re speaking about your problems that you had on your flight, it’s a bad look,” Larsen said. “If you want to talk about the problems that you saw other people have, that’s great, but no one cares about the life of a member of Congress, to be truthful.”

Larsen also warned about the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to hold on to air traffic controllers, noting that while people are retiring on their own, “that’s probably on [Congress] with the shutdowns,” which are only contributing to a long-term problem for lawmakers to address.

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