Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., launched a digital ad on Friday tying Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., to the ongoing government shutdown — and its drag on Georgia’s airports.
‘Flights DELAYED. Military families NOT getting paid. And for what? To demand FREE healthcare of illegal immigrants,’ the graphic reads.
Collins, who has represented Georgia’s 10th Congressional District since 2023, is running to take Ossoff’s seat in 2026.
His ad marks the most recent attempt by Republicans to tie Democrats to the government’s shutdown and highlight its impact on both the national and local levels.
‘Crucial air traffic controllers are working without pay, travelers are facing delays, and government workers face uncertainty because Ossoff and Schumer are playing political games with our government. It’s time to stop the charade and end the shutdown now,’ Collins said in a statement to FOX.
The government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement over federal spending to begin the 2026 fiscal year. Last month, Republicans in the House of Representatives advanced a spending extension to cover the government’s costs through Nov. 21.
But that legislation has stalled in the Senate, where Democrats are demanding that any spending package also include an extension of COVID-era subsidies for Obamacare health insurance premiums that are set expire at the end of the year.
Republicans, who hold 53 seats in the Senate, need the support of at least seven Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster.
The Senate has voted on a spending extension seven times as of Friday. Ossoff, the target of Collin’s ad, has voted alongside his Democratic colleagues against the short-term spending extension on each occasion.
Senators left Washington, D.C., on Thursday afternoon and are not expected to resume votes on government spending until next week.
With the stalemate having entered its 10th day, many essential government workers who have been asked to work without pay, will soon begin to miss paychecks.
Georgia is home to over 110,000 government workers.
Collins noted that airline employees, such as TSA agents, are among those who have no choice but to work because of their critical role. That, Collins argued, has compounded a shortage of traffic controllers, leading to flight delays.
According to Flight Aware, an online flight-tracking service, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had 426 flight delays on Thursday with nine cancellations.
Ossoff won election to the Senate in 2020, beating out Republican challenger David Perdue in a narrow 50.6% – 49.4% victory. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.