X/@tedcruz
Senator Ted Cruz has revealed that he is mulling over measures to assist the federal workers who have been financially affected by the government shutdown and the paying off of their salaries as an immediate recovery action. Nonetheless, the government has cautioned the Republican lawmaker from Texas that the disruptions in air travel will persist for a few days longer until the government is completely reopened.
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Senator Cruz, in a video statement, spoke of the very first government shutdown days and expressed his concern for the thousands of federal workers who had to live through the hard times without their paychecks coming in. He mentioned the pressure that professionals just starting their careers were under and, in the words of Cruz, ‘I hope the paychecks come very quickly.’ But the senator could not guarantee how long it would take for the direct deposits to be cleared out.
In the opening of his speech Cruz went through the whole process of the reopening so carefully that one could expect essential workers would be back in the office Thursday morning. He predicted, however, that ‘I suspect there’d be more of a lag in air travel,’ taking into account that air travel is one of the vital services which could be slower than usual everywhere. According to him, ‘I think we will see delays and cancellations for several days after today.’
The public response to Cruz’s speech was rapid and mainly negative with a great deal of commentators expressing their hatred straight towards the senator. One person explicitly told him, ‘I hear yours will be coming as well,’ suggesting the prevailing view that when the salaries of federal employees were cut, the salaries of lawmakers remained unaffected. Another just said, ‘Bro, just worried about my paycheck being late,’ which perfectly communicated the tension that many workers went through when payments were slow.
My hope is that paychecks will come quickly after the government reopens Wednesday evening.
But I suspect we’ll continue to see delays and cancellations in air travel for several days after today.
More on Verdict: pic.twitter.com/XArMKi5PuF
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 12, 2025
Several users likened Cruz’s infamous trip to Cancun during a past crisis with one user saying, ‘Run to Cancun!’ and another adding, ‘#cancuncruz will still be flying out on time.’ These comments indicate that the past actions of politicians can significantly influence their public image for a long time, especially during government shutdowns and controversies.
A change of topic came as people started responding to the government priorities issue, and a number of them feared that the government’s priorities were misplaced. To support his view about the fact that domestic funding had lapsed while foreign aid was still being disbursed he said, ‘Crazy how Israel still gets their checks but nothing for Americans.’ He also conceded that the political process frustrated him, saying, ‘Fatboy if you and your colleagues had done your job this would not have happened. There are no excuses for a shutdown. None!!!’
Some were referring to the $500,000 provision per violation to the Republicans who are targeted by Jack Smith’s investigations in a pending bill, commenting on recent legislative affairs. ‘Bull Shit! $500,000.00 for every time Jack Smith and others got into your files?’ was the comment one person made, and he/she was condemning what they considered a self-serving law hidden in the funding bill.
Schumer is besieged on all sides.
The crazies are driving the Democrat Party.
We break it all down on Verdict: pic.twitter.com/AjwQTWYCsu
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 12, 2025
Although the public and Cruz were also on the same page regarding the emotional toll that the shutdown took on workers, it was a common theme in both Cruz’s comments and people’s responses. Cruz had referred to the employees in their early twenties as ‘very stressed’ due to not having sufficient money saved up to cover the payment delay. This recognition of the actual human impact was in stark contrast to the more political criticisms that prevailed in the response thread.
The online discussion led to the emergence of some practical suggestions, one of which was ‘Cities should pay salaries of air traffic controllers till the issue is sorted out and later the cities will be reimbursed.’ This was a clear indication of the people’s demand for the creation of the plans for the future to prevent essential services from being disrupted as a result of funding disputes.
The severe criticism targeted at the lawmakers shows that a significant portion of the public opinion holds the politicians directly responsible for the shutdown’s negative effects. The political fallout from the funding lapse is likely to continue even after the government has fully returned to its regular operationsn and been seen through the long-awaited paychecks of the federal employees as a strong symbol of governmental failure. The scenario brings forth both the real human and the economic costs that the political brinkmanship in Washington is accompanied with.
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Government services restoration will draw public attention for the next few days particularly when it comes to the functioning of air travel, and timely payment to the affected employees. For now, Senator Cruz’s mixed signals—showing empathy for the workers while also predicting more travel disruptions—are throwing light on the uncertain transitionary phase when the federal government is struggling to return to its routine work after another avoidable crisis