Podcast Summary: Balance of Power

Episode: New Roadblocks in Shutdown Deal
Date: November 6, 2025
Hosts: Joe Mathieu, Tyler Kendall (Bloomberg)

Overview

In this episode, Joe Mathieu and Tyler Kendall provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, focusing sharply on the new disruptions in air travel and the standoff over health care subsidies. The show features interviews with key policymakers including Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI), Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO), as well as expert panelists Lisa Kamoser Miller and Christina Greer. The discussion ranges from tangible impacts at airports, to behind-the-scenes negotiations, to the broader question of trust and political calculus in Congress.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Impact of the Shutdown on Air Travel

• Announcement: U.S. will cut flight capacity by 10% at 40 major airports to relieve pressure on unpaid air traffic controllers ([00:56]–[01:51]).
  • Major hubs like Atlanta, Dallas, New York City, Los Angeles, and Detroit are affected.
  • Airlines and passengers are bracing for disruption during the busy pre-Thanksgiving travel season.
  • The spillover has led to sold-out Amtrak trains, especially in the Northeast corridor.

Quote:
Senator Jerry Moran:

"There is going to be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations." ([01:42])

• Wider Effects:
  • Some 100,000 air travelers will be affected daily ([28:19]).
  • Domestic flights face cancellations; international routes remain largely unaffected.
  • Concerns about recruiting and retaining air traffic controllers long-term.

Quote:
Joe Matthew:

"It's the reality for anybody who dares to get on a flight right now... the spillover is actually happening." ([02:37])

2. Central Political Roadblock: Health Care Subsidies

• Democratic Position:
  • Congresswoman Haley Stevens argues the path to ending the shutdown is a vote to extend ACA (Obamacare) tax subsidies, as open enrollment headlines show people risk losing coverage ([03:28]–[04:48]).
  • She ties the issue to broader cost-of-living anxieties (rising food prices, credit card debt).
  • Urges action without delay: "We have waited long enough. Open enrollment has begun." ([04:48])

Quote:
Haley Stevens:

"People are logging in to sign up for open enrollment and it's 145% increase... we got to do everything we can to address this cost of living, of affordability nightmare for the American people and for my Michiganders." ([04:48])

• Negotiation Dynamics:
  • Questions on whether a promise of a vote (vs. a guaranteed deal) on subsidies is enough to reopen the government.
  • Stevens sees a two-year extension for subsidies as promising, to avoid immediate recurring battles ([07:29]).

Quote:
Haley Stevens:

"The bigger we can go in terms of keeping people covered at an affordable rate, the better..." ([06:24])

3. Partisan Perspectives and Panel Analysis

Republican View:

• Senator Jerry Moran underscores the primacy of safety in reducing air traffic, but also frames the shutdown as damaging to government functioning and public trust ([19:43], [24:06]).

• Notes bipartisan talks, but perceives Democratic resistance to any deal lacking clear "victory."

• Rejects the shutdown as a winning political strategy:

  "I've never seen anybody get a pat on the back for the outcome of when things shut down." ([24:06])

• Sees potential in a phased deal, with some Democrats open to reopening with just a promise of action on health care.

Democratic View:

• Panelist Christina Greer resists the "both sides" framing, blaming the shutdown squarely on a Republican push to undermine Obamacare:

  "Democrats have been very clear... they don't want millions upon millions of Americans to lose their health care." ([13:17])

• Points out the importance of maintaining trust and the challenge of "saving face" for both parties.

Republican Strategy:

• Lisa Kamoser Miller expresses faith in Republican Senate negotiators but predicts both parties ultimately seek to "save face." She is unsure how the extremely tight timeline (approaching the November 21 funding deadline) will allow for a deal:

  "They're going to have to perform some magic behind the scenes. The deadline is looming." ([14:58])

4. Broader Economic and Political Implications

• Election Connection: Affordability and rising costs are central to voters' lives and the political debate, influencing shutdown negotiations ([25:34]).
• Air Traffic Workforce:
  • Both Moran and Graves highlight longtime shortages in air traffic controllers exacerbated by the shutdown.
  • Training pipelines are filling, but delays and workforce uncertainty may deter future controllers ([19:58]; [34:12]).

Quote:
Sam Graves:

"These are very professional individuals and they know how important their job is... they're showing up and doing the work even now." ([34:12])

• Should controllers be paid during shutdowns? Graves argues yes:

  "They are essential workers, and I think they should be paid as essential workers." ([35:22])

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|-----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:42 | Sen. Jerry Moran | "There is going to be a 10% reduction in capacity at 40 of our locations." | | 04:48 | Rep. Haley Stevens | "People are logging in to sign up for open enrollment and it's 145% increase..." | | 06:24 | Rep. Haley Stevens | "The bigger we can go in terms of keeping people covered at an affordable rate, the better..." | | 13:17 | Christina Greer | "Democrats have been very clear... they don't want millions of Americans to lose their health care."| | 24:06 | Sen. Jerry Moran | "I've never seen anybody get a pat on the back for the outcome of when things shut down." | | 35:22 | Rep. Sam Graves | "They are essential workers, and I think they should be paid as essential workers." |

Important Segment Timestamps

• Shutdown travel impacts and policy context: [00:56]–[02:37]
• Rep. Haley Stevens on healthcare and shutdown: [03:28]–[08:42]
• Panel reaction—partisan trust, deal prospects: [11:31]–[15:51]
• Sen. Moran on aviation and shutdown politics: [19:43]–[28:59]
• Rep. Graves on air traffic control, workforce: [30:41]–[35:45]

Tone & Takeaways

• Urgent, pragmatic, and often somber: The conversation captures the real-world impact of Washington gridlock, especially on mobility and affordability.
• Lawmakers and experts alike express frustration with the slow pace of negotiation, the erosion of trust, and the political posturing preventing real solutions.
• Optimism is cautious and measured: Some see a two-year health care subsidy extension as a possible compromise; others are deeply skeptical about a breakthrough before the November 21 deadline.
• Transport & Health Care—core sticking points: Both issues serve as windows into the broader policy and political stalemate.

For listeners:
This episode provides a detailed look at the government shutdown's toll on the travel sector and how the health care subsidy debate continues to block progress. Interviews with influential lawmakers and seasoned commentators illuminate the tangled calculus and deeply-felt consequences underlying the political standoff.