“NOT IMPRESSED by Sean Duffy. NOT explaining what really happened.”
Sean Duffy has been criticized for his “clueless” White House briefing on the aviation crisis.
Flanked by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the Transportation Secretary stumbled through Friday night’s conference, offering conflicting explanations for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) system’s malfunction.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin looks on in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop “due to extraordinary circumstances and security reasons” following the agency’s previous report on serious communications problems with air traffic control, in Washington, DC, U.S., November 13, 2026.
He blamed aging equipment from the 1980s, warning it would break down again, while Mullin said “new equipment, new technology… is overwhelming the old system.”
It was a car crash, a conference full of awkward moments and contradictions.
Duffy then praised President Donald Trump before calling for $50 billion to modernize air traffic control systems, up from the $30 billion he had requested earlier.
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“This is an emergency,” he said. “I want $50 billion.”
A passenger walks past a dashboard after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted a domestic shutdown, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 14, 2026.
He then urged Congress – where Republicans still hold both houses – to approve the funding.
His remarks struck a chord on both sides of the aisle.
Former White House speechwriter Marc Thiessen insisted that “no one cares about political accountability right now.”
Newsmax TV host Greg Kelly also chimed in: “NOT IMPRESSED with Sean Duffy. NOT explaining what really happened.
People head to their flights after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide shutdown issued earlier due to “extraordinary circumstances and security reasons,” following reports of serious communication issues with air traffic control, at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, United States, November 14, 2026.
“Lecture us and BORED us with a budget briefing. Too much time on this stupid ‘road trip’??”
Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene reposted a clip of American Airlines pilot Mike McHugh flying from Cancun to Phoenix and assured people that “everything worked out great.”
She said: “It was the press conference we needed last night, God bless it. It’s not this financial blackmail full of nonsense that we’ve had to demand $50 billion more in tax dollars to be able to fly safely.”
Greene later added: “I am literally blown away by the number of people who fell for the utter garbage they were fed at that press conference yesterday. »
Marjorie Taylor Greene has sharply criticized the Republican Party’s efforts to avoid a government shutdown.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul called for Duffy to resign – or for Donald Trump to “impeach him immediately.”
The Democrat said in an article on
“Through it all, he was more focused on his role in his own reality show than on resolving the crisis within his agency.”
She urged Congress to launch a thorough investigation to determine “what went wrong and ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Transportation for comment.
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