“I know they are, and I don’t really quite understand why,” Ross said on
CNBC when asked about federal workers going to food banks. Ross is a
billionaire and a longtime friend of President Trump.
His comment drew immediate criticism from top Democrats.
“Is this the ‘let them eat cake’ kind of attitude?” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. “Or call your father for money?”
In his television interview, Ross repeatedly stressed that federal
workers should simply take out loans to cover their expenses while the
government was shut down. He acknowledged they would have to likely pay
some interest, but he said it should help them cover costs.
“The idea that it’s paycheck or zero is not a really valid idea,” he
said. “There’s no reason why some institution wouldn’t be willing to
lend.”
Ross leads one of the agencies that is directly affected by the shutdown
that began Dec. 22, and more than 20,000 of his employees haven’t been
paid for weeks.
Later Thursday, when asked about Ross’s comments, Trump replied.
“Perhaps he should have said it differently. He’s done a great job.”
The White House is working to quell a growing anger among the 800,000
federal workers who are scheduled to miss their second paychecks this
week, as many have begun calling in sick or refusing to show up for
work. The Trump administration has scrambled to try to deflect the
shutdown’s effect on the economy, but they’ve done this in part by
requiring thousands of unpaid federal employees to continue doing their
jobs.
Lawmakers were prepared last month to vote on a government funding bill
that would avoid the shutdown, but Trump decided two days before a key
deadline that he wouldn’t support any bill that didn’t include $5.7
billion for a wall along the Mexico border. This led to a clash with
Democrats, and large parts of the government ran out of money on Dec.
22, freezing the pay of many employees.
Many of those workers are beginning to revolt, either calling in sick or
saying they can’t afford gasoline. But Ross appeared to inaccurately
convey the type of workers who are not showing up.
“It’s kind of disappointing that the air traffic controllers are calling in sick in pretty large number,”
Ross said.
In fact, there has not been an increase in the number of air traffic controllers calling in sick.
Doug Church, spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, emphatically denies Ross’s statement.
“We are not seeing an increase in sickouts,” Church said. “If it’s happening anywhere, we would know it.”
The Transportation Security Administration has reported a marked
increase in the number of security screeners and others who are not
reporting for work, however.
Ross’s sort of grin-and-bear-it line is similar to the position Trump
has taken, saying he thinks federal workers will make “adjustments”
during the shutdown. Many employees are reluctant to quit, because they
would lose benefits they have accrued over years. So they are trying to
see how long they can hold on financially as the shutdown shows no sign
of ending.
Food banks nationwide have reported a spike in visits, and some have
begun setting up services in discreet locations to help federal workers
who are worried about the stigma of accepting free food.
So far, most comments from top White House officials have tried to
downplay the impact on the federal workforce, and Ross’s words on
Thursday drew a quick response from Democrats.
“Those comments are appalling and reveal the administration’s callous
indiffernce towards the federal workers it is treating as pawns,” Senate
Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D.-N.Y.) said.
Trump has signed a bill into law that would repay federal workers for
their lost wages when the shutdown ends, but he is also preparing for
the shutdown to stretch on for several more months.
Trump has demanded that Congress appropriate the wall money, and Democrats have said they will not support it.
Ross also tried to downplay the broader economic impact of the 800,000
workers missing their pay for a protracted period of time.
“If they never got their pay -- which is not the case, they will
eventually get it, but if they never got it, you’re talking about a
third of a percent on our” economy, Ross said. “So it’s not like it’s a
gigantic number overall.”
Ross’s jab at the air traffic controllers came a day after organizations
that represent them, as well as pilots and flight attendants, warned
that the shutdown was causing major safety and security risks.
“In our risk-averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk
currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system
will break,” the groups said. “It is unprecedented.”
- Ashley Halsey III contributed to this report.
