My colleague Ward Clark reported earlier on Saturday on how Spirit Airlines had finally gone under, after being in financial trouble for years.
But as his story noted, one of the big things that may have contributed to their demise was that the Biden administration moved to block a merger with JetBlue that might have helped both companies:
Although neither Spirit nor JetBlue could be considered major airlines, the Biden administration – in the midst of a “whole-of-government” anti-merger mania led by political appointees such as Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra – blocked the merger through a Department of Justice lawsuit. A federal court sided with the Biden DOJ in blocking the merger, and the airlines eventually scuttled their merger plan rather than footing the bill for a costly legal fight.
As Ward also wrote, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who celebrated the blocking of the merger in 2024 as a "Biden win for flyers."
I've warned for months that a @JetBlue-@SpiritAirlines merger would have led to fewer flights and higher fares.@JusticeATR and @USDOT were right to stand up for consumers and fight against runaway airline consolidation.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 6, 2024
This is a Biden win for flyers! https://t.co/lJFGS3ucv3
Warren and the Biden administration had argued the deal would raise prices and reduce competition among airlines.
🤦🏻♂️ @PeteButtigieg: "Our department, the Department of Transportation, has generally not gotten involved in these merger cases, but that’s changing today. It is is important to make sure that passengers have choices, that they have access to low fares, that they have access to… pic.twitter.com/ZYqvOvlg0K
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 2, 2026
@PeteButtigieg: "Our department, the Department of Transportation, has generally not gotten involved in these merger cases, but that’s changing today. It is is important to make sure that passengers have choices, that they have access to low fares, that they have access to competition." The damage from the Biden folks keeps on coming.
READ MORE: From CFPB Block to Bankruptcy: How Democrats, Biden Regulators Grounded Spirit Airlines
Well, nothing reduces competition more than a cheaper alternative like Spirit going under. They had filed for bankruptcy twice in 2024 after the merger failed.
But now that this has happened, what is Warren saying? She's bemoaning the fewer choices, and trying to blame others.
The Big Four airlines (American, Delta, Southwest, United) control 75% of the U.S. market.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 30, 2026
Fewer choices = higher prices for you.
She even tried to blame the judge who denied the merger, seemingly forgetting what she had said before.
Spiking fuel prices from Trump’s war was the nail in the coffin for twice-bankrupted Spirit airline.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 2, 2026
FWIW, JetBlue merger failed because a judge, appointed by Ronald Reagan, said the deal was illegal.
Republicans are desperate to shift blame from higher costs hitting families.
Warren was shredded on X for her shameless spin.
What was marvelous was that she then got wrecked with a couple of savage Community Notes, which didn't let her get away with that contradiction. They reminded her how she called it a "Biden win for flyers," but now, with the shutdown, there were fewer flights and less competition.
Safe to say, she was ratioed into oblivion.
Biden win = thousands of people losing their jobs with Spirit’s demise https://t.co/3Rz0l778z3
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) May 2, 2026
Utterly extraordinary. Arsonist and firefighter. https://t.co/Q0PZhKLdp8
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) May 2, 2026
Current Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy had a message for his predecessor:
Nice job, Pete. https://t.co/L77YgOdJWf
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) May 2, 2026
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