14,000 Air Traffic Controllers Work Without Pay as Partial Government Shutdown Drags On
Tuesday marks the fourth day of a partial government shutdown. It comes as lawmakers in Washington remain deadlocked over funding for immigration enforcement and is now affecting thousands of federal workers.
Workers with the Federal Aviation Administration are on furlough and some 14,000 air traffic controllers will work without pay as the shutdown continues.
A message posted on the Department of Health and Human services website says, “Due to the government shutdown, information on this website may not be up to date.”
And as Americans begin filing their taxes, the Internal Revenue Service says it is only able to process returns through this Saturday.
President Trump is hopeful that an agreement can be made. “I think they’re pretty close to a resolution,” Trump said Monday. “You know, we were at 5.6% GDP and we lost a point and a half because of the 42-day shutdown.”
The impasse is centered around ICE operations following the tragic shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said ICE agents will now be required to wear body cameras. “We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Noem posted on X.
I just spoke with @RealTomHoman @ICEDirector @CBPCommissioner. Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis.
As funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) February 2, 2026
Lawmakers are deadlocked over demands for agency reform.
The budget bill only funds DHS for two weeks, giving Congress time to debate changes in ICE tactics and strategy.
Speaker Mike Johnson needs nearly every Republican vote in the House of Representatives to pass it, but some are opposed to talk of reform.
Meanwhile, the House is holding a procedural vote on Tuesday to move the bill forward and potentially end the shutdown.
