Spirit Airlines in bailout talks with Trump administration

• The company filed for bankruptcy protection in August for the second time in less than a year and has been unable to find its way out.

Zoom in: The White House is discussing providing emergency financing to Spirit, WSJ and CNBC reported earlier Wednesday.

• The deal could include a loan of up to $500 million for Spirit and equity warrants for the government, but the discussions are fluid.

What they're saying: "Spirit Airlines would be on a much firmer financial footing had the Biden administration not recklessly blocked the airline's merger with JetBlue," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement in response to Axios' request for comment.

• "The Trump administration continues to monitor the situation and overall health of the U.S. aviation industry that millions of Americans rely on every day for essential travel and their livelihoods."
• A Spirit spokesperson declined to comment but said the company is continuing to accept bookings.

Catch up quick: Trump said Tuesday of Spirit: "It's 14,000 jobs, and maybe the federal government should help that one ‌out."

The intrigue: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared to express skepticism about a bailout in an interview Tuesday with Reuters.

• "What we don't want to do is ‌put good money after bad, and there's been a lot of money thrown at Spirit, ‌and they haven't found their way into profitability," Duff said.
• "And so would we just forestall the inevitable and then own that? Or does Spirit have some pathway to make it and I don't know the answer to that."
• "If no one else wants ⁠to buy them, why would we buy them?" he added.