An irate passenger forced a flight carrying four congressmen to Washington DC to be grounded, as footage showed her declaring: ‘We live in a fascist state.’
The incident caused the flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to make an emergency stop in Kansas City after the unruly flier caused a disturbance following takeoff.
Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton, a Democrat, said on X that he was flying to DC with three other Arizona lawmakers – Republican Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar – at the time.
Stanton said he was heading to DC to vote no on ending the government shutdown because the deal ‘fails to lower health care costs’, while his three GOP colleagues went on to vote for it.
‘We’re making emergency stop in Kansas City to remove disruptive passenger. None of my colleagues is the disruptor,’ he wrote.
Stanton signed off his post by saying that the Freedom Caucus – a conservative faction of the House that Crane, Biggs and Gosar are part of – is ‘losing its mojo.’
A video posted by another passenger on board the flight showed the unidentified woman being escorted off the plane, at which point she apologized to her fellow fliers and said they lived in a ‘fascist state.’
American Airlines said in a statement that the plane was diverted due to a ‘disruptive customer’, and flight data showed the incident caused a delay of around an hour before the plane touched down in DC at around 9pm Wednesday night.
An irate passenger forced a flight carrying four congressmen to Washington DC to be grounded as footage showed her declaring: ‘We live in a fascist state’
The incident caused the flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to make an emergency stop in Kansas City after the unruly flier caused a disturbance after takeoff on Wednesday
Democrat Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton (pictured) said on X that he was flying to DC with three other Arizona lawmakers – Republican Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar – at the time
Stanton and his GOP opponents in Arizona were able to get to DC in time for the vote on ending the government shutdown, which the Democrat voted against.
The House voted 222-209 to pass the Senate’s funding bill, which will restart food assistance programs for over 40 million Americans, and re-open paychecks for federal employees including air traffic controllers.
Additional provisions include increased security funding for officials and members of Congress, and reinstating workers laid off during the shutdown.
The funding bill has been criticized by Democrats for failing to prevent healthcare costs from soaring.
After the funding bill was passed on Wednesday night, President Trump signed it into law, marking the end of the longest federal government shutdown in US history.
Trump was surrounded by top Republicans and national business leaders as he railed against Democrats, blaming them for the record-breaking closure once more, despite polling showing that many voters think Republicans bear the blame for the shutdown.
‘I just want to tell the American people, you should not forget this,’ Trump said, imploring voters to remember the shutdown when they go to vote in the midterms next year.
Trump also called again for ending the filibuster, a proposal that has been unpopular with members of both parties.
The president thanked the Democrats who sided with Republicans to end the shutdown, and also praised the broad coalition from across the political spectrum including the AFGE, Farm Bureau, and Fraternal Order of Police who pressured the Democrats to switch their votes.
President Donald Trump speaks while signing the bill package to open the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2025
Trump was surrounded by top Republicans and national business leaders as he railed against Democrats, blaming them for the record-breaking closure once more
The Senate previously passed its version of the funding legislation with 60 votes in favor and 40 votes against.
60 votes were the minimum number required to pass a budget bill in the upper chamber.
Eight Democrats sided with Republicans in the Senate, as despite holding a majority in both chambers of Congress Republicans only have 53 seats in the Senate, which was short of the 60 votes needed to pass a funding bill.
Both Senate Republicans and several Democrats were growing uneasy about the shutdown’s escalating consequences. They were eager to get the government running again before the situation worsens.
‘Today, we’re sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion, because that’s what it was, they tried to extort, the Democrats tried to extort our country,’ Trump noted shortly before ending the shutdown.
‘Yet, the extremists in the other party insisted on creating the longest government shutdown in American history, and they did it purely for political reasons,’ Trump added.
