Spirit Airlines Collapse Cast as Warren Letter Fallout, Says Treasury Official

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed Elizabeth Warren’s September 2022 letter opposing Spirit’s merger with JetBlue for Spirit Airlines’ collapse four years later, arguing the Biden administration blocked a deal that could have preserved thousands of jobs; Spirit cited rising fuel costs tied to the Iran war and a failed government rescue as the immediate causes, while noting Commerce, not Treasury, was attempting to put together a bailout deal and that JetBlue’s involvement could have strengthened Spirit.