EDITORIAL: Rosen’s shutdown hits local tourism industry

Air travel has become the latest casualty of the Democratic government shutdown — and Las Vegas is right in the thick of it all. How much pain is “bipartisan” Sen. Jacky Rosen, now marching in lockstep behind the Senate Democratic leadership, willing to inflict on Southern Nevada?

The Trump administration on Thursday announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation will reduce traffic at more than three dozen high-volume airports by 10 percent as a safety move in reaction to the impasse in Washington. Air traffic controllers aren’t being paid during the shutdown, leading to staffing shortages as many stay home.

The FAA began phasing in the cuts this weekend, with 4 percent flight reductions at select airports, including Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. As of Thursday night, Southwest Airlines had canceled 21 Friday flights, the Review-Journal reported. On Friday, FlightAware, which tracks flight delays and cancellations, reported there were 41 cancellations and 112 delays at Reid.

Airline officials have vowed to take steps to minimize the disruptions for passengers. But delays and inconveniences are inevitable. And the cuts come at an awful time for Las Vegas, which has struggled with dwindling tourism numbers for much of the year. Local officials were counting on a rebound over the final two months of 2025, particularly given the convention calendar, the National Finals Rodeo in December and the Formula One race on and around the Strip the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Senate Democrats, including Nevada’s Sen. Rosen, have, on more than a dozen occasions, voted against a clean continuing resolution to open the government, preferring instead to keep Washington shuttered unless they win certain spending concessions. They’ve even voted against paying military members during the shutdown. This is how we got to where we are today.

Democrats have become only more emboldened in recent days after their convincing electoral wins on Tuesday. And they don’t particularly care about the collateral damage their intransigence inflicts as long as they believe they’re scoring political points. “I think it would be very strange,” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, told Axios last week, “if on the heels of the American people having rewarded Democrats for standing up and fighting, we surrendered without getting anything for the people we’ve been fighting for.”

But how long will Sen. Rosen stand idly by as the Las Vegas tourism industry suffers from air travel dysfunction created by the shutdown that she and other Senate Democrats have calculatingly manufactured? Is she willing to threaten the well-being of many of her constituents, who depend upon a vibrant tourism sector?

Sen. Rosen’s counterpart, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, is one of three members of her party in the upper chamber to buck minority leadership and vote to open the government, understanding that this tiresome kabuki theater isn’t good for the nation. Sen. Rosen should come to her senses and put her state ahead of her party.