The State Department has spent nearly $100 million less on travel this year than last amid a wider effort to trim budgets, according to documents exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

From January to September 2024, the Biden administration State Department spent $306 million on foreign and domestic travel. At the same point this year, the department under President Donald Trump spent $212 million, according to documents seen by Fox News Digital.

Some $37 million in cuts was focused on domestic travel, largely driven by a decrease in conference attendance, which made up nearly $7 million of the cuts.

Site visits and consultations within the U.S. also decreased by around $14 million and domestic special mission travel was down around $5.5 million.

Overseas travel decreased from $206 million from January-September 2024 to $149 million.

Site visits and consultations overseas were down around $12.5 million and travel for training was down around $15 million.

‘The Trump Administration has consistently been on the side of the American people and the American taxpayer, and these numbers prove that,’ principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggot said.

‘We believe in real diplomacy, not meetings for the sake of meetings.’

This travel-spending decline comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to shrink the department’s footprint and reduce overseas commitments. In April 2025, the Office of Management and Budget wrote a memo recommending the combined budget of the State Department and USAID be cut nearly in half in the upcoming fiscal year.

The plan would reduce the budget from about $55 billion to $28.4 billion, slash funding for humanitarian assistance and global health programs by more than 50%, and potentially shut down or significantly scale back dozens of U.S. missions abroad.

And as of July, the department had initiated layoffs of over 1,300 domestic staff.

The Trump administration took a shot at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she rallied Americans to reject President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction project, accusing the former first lady of stealing furniture from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in 2001. 

‘Failed presidential candidate and former First Lady Crooked Hillary Clinton stole furniture from the White House on her way out until she was forced to return it,’ White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital Wednesday. ‘Crooked Hillary is shameless and a total disgrace.’ 

‘Meanwhile, President Trump is restoring the White House to its proper glory for Americans to enjoy for generations to come — at no expense to the taxpayer — something we should all celebrate,’ Ingle added. 

Clinton took to social media earlier in October to rally support against Trump’s ballroom construction at the White House — a privately-funded project to install a 90,000-square-foot entertaining space at the iconic residence. 

‘It’s not his house,’ Hillary Clinton wrote on X Tuesday morning. ‘It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.’ 

Clinton’s comment was quickly mocked, as conservatives rehashed a 2001 controversy when former President Bill Clinton and his wife took household items from the White House that were legally designated as White House property, according to The Washington Post at the time. 

The Clintons took, and then returned, an estimated $28,000 in White House furnishings provided by donors, and paid $86,000 to the federal government for other gifts they received in 2001, after Clinton’s tenure in the Oval Office came to a close, The Washington Post reported at the time. The former first couple denied wrongdoing while addressing the ‘catalogoing error.’ 

‘Gifts did not leave the White House without the approval of the White House usher’s and curator’s offices,’ the Clintons said in a 2001 statement. ‘Of course, if the White House now determines that a cataloging error occurred … any item in question will be returned.’

Conservatives, including lawmakers and social media influencers, knocked Clinton over the 2001 controversy in response to her comments against the ballroom construction. 

‘At least he didn’t steal the silverware,’ Texas Sen. Ted Cruz posted to X Tuesday lambasting Clinton.  

‘Hi Hillary, Remind us, wasn’t it you who walked off with $28,000 in White House furniture when you moved out?’ conservative influencer Benny Johnson posted to X. ‘And your husband who defiled the Oval Office during his presidency? President Trump’s funding a beautiful new ballroom out of his own pocket.’ 

‘A Clinton would never defile the White House,’ former White House staffer Alex Pfeiffer shot back in response. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Clinton’s office multiple times for additional comment on her anti-ballroom remarks and subsequent mockery of the 2001 controversy but did not receive replies. 

Trump announced Monday that construction for the ballroom had begun. 

‘I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!’ 

‘For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!’ he continued. ‘The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!’

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un should make a ‘bold decision’ to meet during the American president’s upcoming trip to Asia, South Korea’s unification minister declared Friday.

Chung Dong-young made the remark as Trump is set to leave Friday night for a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported.

‘The leaders of North Korea and the U.S. must not miss this chance,’ Chung was quoted by Reuters as telling South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. ‘They need to make a bold decision.’

‘It would help North Korea’s international standing and improve its people’s lives … and for that, peace and stability need to be guaranteed and that’s only possible by meeting President Trump,’ Chung reportedly added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

The last time Trump and Kim met was on June 30, 2019, at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

Earlier this month, a White House official told Fox News Digital that, ‘President Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong Un, without any preconditions.’

‘President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula. U.S. policy on North Korea has not changed,’ the official added.

In late September, Kim said he has ‘good personal memories’ of Trump from their first meetings and there is ‘no reason not to’ resume dialogue with the U.S. if it ‘abandons its delusional obsession with denuclearization,’ according to The Associated Press.

North Korea later test-fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday ahead of Trump’s departure to Asia.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr, Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is heading off to Asia Friday evening, not long after North Korea fired off a ballistic missile for the first time in months and as questions loom regarding trade negotiations with China.

The White House confirmed that Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

The meeting comes amid escalated tensions between the two countries on trade after Beijing announced Oct. 9 it would impose export controls on rare-earth magnets, which are used in a host of products ranging from electric cars to F-35 fighter jets. In response, Trump announced the U.S. would impose a new 100% tariff on all Chinese goods, which is slated to take effect Nov. 1.

Even so, Trump sought to diffuse tensions and has routinely touted his relationship with Xi in recent weeks. Additionally, he has voiced confidence both parties will walk away from the summit pleased and that a deal will be made.

‘I think we are going to come out very well, and everyone’s going to be very happy,’ Trump said Thursday.

The summit between Trump and Xi will mark the first time they’ve met in person since Trump took office in January. The two previously met in person in June 2019 in Japan.

Trump’s meeting with Xi will come on the tail end of a larger trip to the region. Trump is first headed to Malaysia to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim Sunday afternoon before participating in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dinner in the evening.

While in Malaysia, he will also meet with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Trump will then head to Tokyo Monday and is slated to meet on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was just elected earlier in October. Takaichi is the first woman to serve as the prime minister of Japan.

Trump will then close out his trip heading to South Korea, where he will meet with the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and will deliver keynote remarks at the APEC CEO lunch.

Trump is scheduled to return to Washington Thursday.

Meanwhile, North Korea has upped its aggression in recent days, firing off multiple short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday, the first one Pyongyang has launched since May. Meanwhile, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un showed off a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade in front of Chinese, Russian and other top officials Oct. 10.

‘We are aware of the DPRK’s multiple ballistic missile launches and are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as other regional allies and partners,’ U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said in a statement on Wednesday.

‘The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts,’ INDOPACOM said. ‘While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced after a contentious nomination hearing Thursday that he would not support the Trump administration’s pick for ambassador to Kuwait.

Among other areas of concern, Cruz expressed alarm over Amer Ghalib’s refusal to outright condemn the Muslim Brotherhood, a group Cruz believes works against the geopolitical interests of the United States.

‘The Muslim Brotherhood is a global terrorist organization,’ Cruz said in a post on X. ‘Amer Ghalib refers to them as an inspiration. That is in opposition to President Trump and is disqualifying. I cannot support his confirmation for the Ambassador to Kuwait.’ 

Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., sparred with Cruz and other members of the Senate earlier that day, clashing with several lawmakers over issues like the United States’ relationship with Israel, comments he had made about the war in Gaza and more.

According to the Department of State, Ghalib was born and raised in Yemen before coming to the United States at age 17. After working full-time in an auto parts factory, he attended the Ross University School of Medicine from 2006-2011 and went on to work as a healthcare professional at the Hamtramck Medical Group until his entry into politics. 

Ghalib made news when he was elected as mayor in 2021, becoming the first Muslim to fill the role. In that capacity, he endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2023.

‘Mr. Ghalib’s journey began as a farmer in Yemen, then as an autoworker in the United States, a healthcare professional, and then as an elected mayor of his city. His multicultural experience, deep regional knowledge and demonstrated success as a politician, leader and community organizer, make him a well-qualified candidate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the State of Kuwait,’ the State Department wrote in its summary of the administration’s nominee. 

On Thursday, when asked by Cruz if he still considered Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, a martyr, Ghalib initially skirted the question.

‘I was a private citizen in 2020,’ Ghalib answered, referring to the timing of a social media post when he had given that description.

‘I’m just asking your views. I asked you about today. Do you continue to believe that Saddam Hussein is a martyr today?’ Cruz asked again.

‘I don’t think that — there’s no doubt that Saddam was a dictator. I mean, I can say no. It wouldn’t matter. He’s in God’s hands; he’s going to get the treatment he deserves,’ Ghalib said. 

Hussein served as president from 1979 until his government was overthrown in the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. In the aftermath, an Iraqi tribunal found him guilty of willful killing, illegal imprisonment, deportation and torture, among other abuses. He was hanged on Dec. 30, 2006.

Ghalib and the Hamtramck City Council entered the spotlight in 2024 when the city voted unanimously to approve a resolution that, in response to the war in Gaza, required the city to avoid investing in Israeli companies. Citing that resolution, Cruz and other senators expressed reservations that Ghalib would be able to faithfully carry out positions held by the administration. especially if it were to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization or other policy issues that could conflict with Ghalib’s personal views on the Middle East. 

Those hesitations stretched across the aisle.

‘You liked a Facebook comment comparing Jews to monkeys,’ Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said. ‘You characterized leaders you don’t like as becoming ‘Jewish.’ As mayor, you failed to comment after one of your political appointees called the Holocaust ‘advance punishment’ for the War in Gaza, and you denied that Hamas used sexual violence as a weapon of war on Oct. 7.’ 

Ghalib did not deny authoring the posts. Instead, he defended himself by arguing that his comments had been taken out of context or that lawmakers had selectively misconstrued his actions. In response to Rosen’s remarks about liking a post comparing Jewish people to monkeys, Ghalib said that he had made it a practice to interact with all social media comments left on his page as a form of acknowledgment. He said those views did not reflect his positions. 

‘I think a lot of my posts were written in Arabic and mistranslated,’ Ghalib said in response to further questioning about some of the posts he had made himself.

The State Department and Ghalib’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Rosen and other senators did not seem moved by Ghalib’s explanations.

‘That is beyond the pale. I will not be supporting your nomination,’ Rosen said. ‘And if you are confirmed — I want you to remember this, sir: You will be an ambassador for the United States of America. And, thus, as ambassador, we must show respect to everyone. We will be watching to see if that happens.’ 

No date has been set for a final vote on Ghalib’s nomination. 

The White House pushed back on reports claiming President Donald Trump will likely name the upcoming White House ballroom after himself, saying any name designation for the event space will come directly from the president. 

‘Any announcement made on the name of the ballroom will come directly from President Trump himself, and not through anonymous and unnamed sources,’ White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital Friday. 

Reports spread like wildfire Friday afternoon that Trump planned to name the ballroom after himself, with ABC News publishing a report that administration officials were reportedly already calling the project ‘The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom.’

‘I won’t get into that now,’ Trump told ABC News Thursday when asked about a potential name, the outlet noted. 

Trump announced Monday that construction had begun on the ballroom, after months of Trump touting the upcoming project to modernize the White House. The project does not cost taxpayers and is privately funded, the administration has repeatedly said. 

‘For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday. ‘The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!’

The ballroom’s official construction set off a firestorm of criticisms among Democrats who have characterized Trump as destroying the iconic American residence. 

‘Oh you’re trying to say the cost of living is skyrocketing? Donald Trump can’t hear you over the sound of bulldozers demolishing a wing of the White House to build a new grand ballroom,’ Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted to X in response to Trump’s Monday announcement.

‘The White House became my home when I was twelve years old. I always understood that it wasn’t my ‘house’; it was The People’s House,’ former first daughter Chelsea Clinton posted to X. ‘The erasure of the East Wing isn’t just about marble or plaster — it’s about President Trump again taking a wrecking ball to our heritage, while targeting our democracy, and the rule-of-law.’

‘I wanted to share this photo of my family standing by a historic part of the White House that was just torn down today by Trump,’ New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim posted to X Monday. ‘We didn’t need a billionaire-funded ballroom to celebrate America. Disgusting what Trump is doing.’

The Trump administration has repeatedly hit back at the criticisms, including White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying on Fox News that presidents historically have wanted a large entertaining space at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 

‘Nearly every single president who’s lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own,’ Leavitt said on Fox News’ ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ Tuesday. ‘In fact, presidents for decades — in modern times — have joked about how they wished they had a larger event space here at the White House, something that could hold hundreds more people than the current East Room and State Dining Room.’

‘President Obama even complained that, during his tenure, he had to hold a state dinner on the South Lawn and rent a very expensive tent.’

Analysts say China has developed a chilling strategy for fighting a war with the United States: destroy America’s fighter jets before they ever leave the ground.

In nearly every modern conflict, disabling enemy aircraft on the ground has been the first move. When Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year, it began by destroying Iranian runways — grounding Tehran’s air force before it could take off. Russia and Ukraine have done the same throughout their ongoing war, targeting airfields to cripple enemy aircraft. And when India clashed with Pakistan, the opening salvos hit Pakistani air bases.

Beijing has taken that lesson to heart. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has spent years building an arsenal of long-range precision missiles — including ‘carrier killers’ like the DF-21D and DF-26 — capable of destroying U.S. aircraft carriers and striking American airfields across the Pacific. The goal: keep U.S. air power out of range before it can even launch.

Now, a U.S. defense technology firm says it has built a way to fight back. Shield AI, based in San Diego, has unveiled a new AI-piloted fighter jet designed to operate without runways, without GPS, and without constant communication links — an aircraft that can think, fly, and fight on its own.

Shield AI says the jet, called X-BAT, can take off vertically, reach 50,000 feet, fly more than 2,000 nautical miles, and execute strike or air defense missions using an onboard autonomy system known as Hivemind. It’s designed to operate from ships, small islands, or improvised sites — places where traditional jets can’t. The aircraft’s dash speed remains classified.

‘China has built this anti-access aerial denial bubble that holds our runways at risk,’ said Armor Harris, Shield AI’s senior vice president of aircraft engineering, in an interview with Fox News. ‘They’ve basically said, ‘We’re not going to compete stealth-on-stealth in the air — we’ll target your aircraft before they even get off the ground.’’

The jet launches vertically, and three X-BATs can fit in the space of one legacy fighter or helicopter.

According to Harris, the U.S. has spent decades perfecting stealth and survivability in the air while leaving its forces vulnerable on the ground. ‘The way to solve that problem is mobility,’ he said. ‘You’re always moving around. This is the only VTOL fighter being built today.’

X-BAT’s Hivemind autonomy allows it to operate in denied or jammed environments, where traditional aircraft would be blind. The system uses onboard sensors to interpret its surroundings, reroute around threats, and identify targets in real time. ‘It’s reading and reacting to the situation around it,’ Harris said. ‘It’s not flying a pre-programmed route. If new threats appear, it can reroute itself or identify targets and then ask a human for permission to engage.’

That human element, he emphasized, remains essential. ‘It’s very important to us that a human is always involved in making the use of lethal force decision,’ Harris said. ‘That doesn’t mean the person has to be in the cockpit — it could be remote or delegated through tasking — but there will always be a human decision-maker.’

Shield AI says X-BAT will be combat-ready by 2029 and is designed to deliver fifth- or sixth-generation performance at a small fraction of the cost of manned fighters. The aircraft’s compact footprint allows up to three X-BATs to fit in the deck space of a single legacy fighter or helicopter, giving commanders more flexibility in launching sorties from limited space.

While Shield AI isn’t disclosing specific numbers, the company says X-BAT is priced in the same range as the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, the next generation of autonomous wingmen meant to fly alongside — and eventually ahead of — manned fighters. Costs vary depending on mission systems and configurations, but the company’s goal is to scale production to keep the jet affordable and sustainable throughout its lifecycle, breaking what it calls the traditional ‘fighter cost curve.’

The company estimates the aircraft will deliver about a tenfold improvement in cost per effect compared to legacy fifth-generation jets, including the F-35, while remaining ‘affordable and attritable’ enough to be risked in high-end combat.

Shield AI is in discussions with both the Air Force and Navy about integrating X-BAT into future combat programs and with several allied militaries exploring joint development opportunities.

Harris said the company views X-BAT as part of a generational shift toward distributed airpower — one that mirrors what SpaceX did in space. ‘Historically, the United States had a small number of extremely capable, extremely expensive satellites,’ he said. ‘Then you had SpaceX come along and put up hundreds of smaller, cheaper ones. The same thing is happening in air power. There’s always going to be a role for manned platforms, but over time, unmanned systems will outnumber them ten-to-one or twenty-to-one.’

For Harris, that shift is about restoring deterrence through flexibility. ‘X-BAT presents an asymmetric dilemma to an adversary like China,’ he said. ‘They don’t know where it’s coming from, and the cost of countering it is high. It’s an important part of a broader joint force that becomes significantly more lethal.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday accused President Donald Trump of ‘skipping town’ for a trip to Asia during the ongoing government shutdown.

Trump departed for Asia Friday night for a weeklong trip that will include stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. Republicans and Democrats remain divided on negotiations to end the shutdown that began earlier this month, with each side blaming the other as the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.

‘In the midst of the longest full government shutdown in American history — a crisis of his own making — President Trump’s priorities are severely misplaced,’ Schumer said in a statement.

‘While Americans are struggling to make ends meet, federal workers are going without pay, and millions of families are bracing for soaring health care costs, the President is leaving the country,’ he continued.

Schumer added: ‘America is shut down and the President is skipping town.’

The senator said Democrats have sought to meet with Trump, but that the president is ‘abandoning’ his responsibilities.

‘Democrats have asked, again and again, for President Trump to meet with us to negotiate a bipartisan deal that would address the healthcare crisis, and find a path forward to reopen the government. But instead of doing his job, President Trump is abandoning it,’ Schumer said.

Schumer also called on GOP lawmakers in Congress to work across the aisle to reach a deal to end the shutdown.

‘With the President out of the country, the responsibility falls squarely on Congressional Republicans to act — to come to the table, to do their jobs, and to deliver an agreement that reopens the government and protects Americans from another health care disaster,’ he said.

‘Americans deserve a government that works as hard as they do— not a leader that flies away from responsibility at the time they need one most,’ the top Senate Democrat added.

While in Asia, Trump is expected to meet with regional allies about trade, including the trade war with China, as well as Beijing’s tightening of export controls on rare-earth minerals critical for certain technologies. 

The president is also expected to address security in the region and affirm America’s commitment to supporting its allies.

With just a dozen days to go until Election Day, a new poll in one of the only two states in the nation holding showdowns for governor this year indicates Democrats with a single-digit lead at the top of the ticket, but tight margins in the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger leads Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears 52%-43% among likely voters in Virginia, according to a Suffolk University poll released Thursday in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

But the survey indicates Republican Lt. Gov. nominee John Reid and Democratic rival Ghazala Hasmi deadlocked at 45%, and GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares topping Democratic challenger Jay Jones 46%-42%.

Virginia and New Jersey are the only states that hold gubernatorial contests in the year after a presidential election. And the elections, which traditionally grab outsized national attention, are viewed this year as early verdicts on President Donald Trump’s unprecedented and relentless second-term agenda, as well as key barometers ahead of next year’s midterm showdowns for the U.S. House and Senate.

While Spanberger has held the lead over Earle-Sears in a slew of surveys since the start of the year, polls tightened recently after explosive revelations in Virginia’s attorney general race rocked the campaign trail.

Jones has been in crisis mode since controversial three-year-old texts — where he compared then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to mass murderers Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot. He said that if he was given two bullets, he would use both against the GOP lawmaker to shoot him in the head. The news was first reported a couple of weeks ago by the National Review.

Jones acknowledged and apologized for the texts, but has been facing calls from Republicans to drop out of the race. And the GOP is aiming to leverage the controversy up and down the ballot, forcing Spanberger on defense.

While the poll indicated that more respondents see the nation on the wrong track, more also view Virginia on the right track under Youngkin, which would typically buoy the party in power in Richmond.

However, President Donald Trump’s approval has fallen below 40%, suggesting a tug-of-war that could break for Democrats in the end. However, Trump also received the most credit from Virginians asked about the Israel-Hamas peace process – with former President Joe Biden only receiving credit from 4% of respondents.

More respondents also blamed Democrats than Republicans for the ongoing government shutdown – by 38-28%, while Trump, by name, was blamed by 21% of additional respondents.

‘Spanberger is trying to carry the whole Democratic ticket over the finish line,’ said David Paleologos, Director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. ‘However, the Democratic nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general are struggling in their respective contests, and they can’t seem to replicate Spanberger’s popularity, early voting ground game, or dominance over their opponents.’

According to the new poll, which was conducted Oct. 19–21, Spanberger led Earle-Sears among women 57%-38%, while only trailing among men by a single point, 49%-48%. Among Black voters, Spanberger led Earle-Sears 87%-9%, while trailing among white voters 52%-46%.

And the survey indicated Spanberger topping Earle-Sears by 15 points among those voters who identify as independents, and by 19 points among those who have already cast a ballot.

Early voting in Virginia kicked off on September 19 and the poll suggests that nearly a quarter of all votes for governor in the November election have already been cast.

Five-hundred likely voters in Virginia were questioned in the poll. The survey’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

U.S. travelers could soon start to feel the pain of the ongoing government shutdown, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Thursday.

Duffy joined House GOP leaders at their daily press conference on Day 23 of the shutdown to talk about the difficulties Congress’ fiscal standoff is putting on the nation’s air traffic controllers.

The Trump Cabinet official said air traffic controllers he’s spoken with were ‘angry’ and ‘frustrated’ about being forced to work without pay — noting that Tuesday, Oct. 28, will mark their first full missed paycheck if a sudden breakthrough does not happen on Capitol Hill by then.

‘Safety is paramount for us. And so, if we don’t have the staffing levels in a tower TRACON or center, you will see us delay traffic. You will see us cancel flights,’ Duffy said. ‘It’s not moving as many flights as possible. It’s moving as many flights as possible safely. That is our mission.’

Duffy said that many air traffic controllers are already working under difficult conditions, noting they would get even worse if the shutdown persists.

‘If you have a controller that’s working six days a week but has to think about, ‘How am I going to pay the mortgage, how am I to make the car payment, how am I going to put food on my kid’s table?’ They have to make choices, and the choice they’re making is to take a second job,’ he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted that roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers will work without pay the longer the shutdown goes on.

‘There were 19,000 delayed flights from Saturday to Monday and an additional 1,600 canceled flights during that same period. That number is only going to increase as the Democrat shutdown continues,’ Johnson said.

‘We are rounding into a holiday season, as we all know, and we’re in the middle of the height of the football season. This is peak travel time for the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are going to travel to football games this weekend, for example.’

The U.S. air traffic control system has already been dealing with years-long staffing issues, forcing existing workers to take on grueling shifts with little time off. But the shutdown’s compound effect on the current workforce could exacerbate longstanding issues.

It comes just over a month before millions of Americans are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday and the end-of-year holidays a month after that.

‘I want to reiterate, we are all about safety. And we will make sure we work every day on that part of our job,’ Duffy said. ‘But again, I can’t guarantee you that your flight is going to be on time. I can’t guarantee you that you’re not gonna be canceled. It’s going to depend on our air traffic controllers coming in to work every single day.’

At another point, he blamed Democrats for resisting the GOP’s government funding plan for over a month and prolonging the shutdown.

‘I do think, in the Democrat senators’ hearts, they want to vote to open the government up. They don’t want to hurt the American people. But we’ve seen they have a radical base,’ Duffy said. ‘This is because Democrats are concerned about their own hide, and they’ve sold the country to the most radical element of their country. And I think that’s really shameful. It’s too bad.’

The government shutdown shows no signs of ending for now as Democrats and Republicans remain in disagreement over federal funding.

Senate Democrats, who are demanding any funding bill be paired with healthcare concessions from the GOP, have rejected Republicans’ plan — an extension of current federal funding levels through Nov. 21 — 12 times.