Republican hit with $2.9K taxi fare after tech outage leaves him stranded at RNC

MILWAUKEE — Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) is about to take the ride of his life.

Well, at $2,900, it will at least be the most expensive taxi ride of his life.

In the wake of this week’s Republican National Convention, Fleischmann and his wife found themselves stranded in Milwaukee Friday, ensnared in the CrowdStrike outage that’s grounded more than 2,000 flights nationwide.

After Delta Air Lines canceled the flight they were scheduled to take home to Tennessee, Fleischmann was told he couldn't rebook for today — or even in the coming days.

“It is no more,” Fleischmann told Raw Story at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. “It disappeared.”

Like others stranded here in Wisconsin, the congressman couldn’t get a rental car as thousands of Republican National Convention attendees scrambled to depart.

“They’re all booked,” he said, tieless and wearing a blue sports coat with his shiny congressional pin gleaming on his lapel as he sat in the airport food court.

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All Fleischmann could find is a taxi willing to drive them for $2,900.

With no other option, the fiscal conservative is resigned to an overnight cab ride back to Chattanooga, TN.

“Wow,” Raw Story responded. “And the cabby has to then drive back alone?”

“Yeah,” Fleischmann said. “But they’re making out all right.”