Sen. Cruz threatens another shutdown unless restrictions on military flights are approved [View all]

Source: AP

Updated 5:21 PM EST, December 15, 2025


WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz threatened Monday to hold up funding to keep the federal government open after the end of January if reforms don’t pass by then to tighten up the rules on military flights and help prevent deadly crashes like the collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., that killed 67.

Cruz and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell held a news conference Monday with some of the victims’ families to urge Congress to strip provisions from a massive defense bill that would allow military aircraft to get a waiver to return to operating without broadcasting their precise location, just as they were before the Jan. 29 crash.

But amending the defense bill would send it back to the House and could delay raises for soldiers and other key provisions.

When he was asked about the helicopter safety concerns Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune responded that he hoped to hold a vote to add the legislation Cruz and Cantwell introduced last summer, called the ROTOR act, to a government funding package this week. “I think we’ll get there on that, but it would be really hard to undo the defense authorization bill now,” Thune, R-S.D., said.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/aviation-safety-helicopter-washington-dc-crash-shutdown-ec6bfdb0964498fa61bcd6b0478be023