Revision History

The Trump administration is negotiating a $500 million rescue package for Spirit Airlines that would give the federal government up to 90% ownership of the carrier, potentially invoking the 1950 Defense Production Act to justify the intervention. With Spirit days from liquidation amid soaring jet fuel costs driven by the Iran war, the plan faces sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers and free-market economists who question whether a Cold War-era defense statute can legally prop up a twice-bankrupt budget airline.