Sean Duffy has been blasted for his “clueless” White House briefing on the aviation crisis.
Flanked by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the transportation secretary stumbled through the Friday evening conference, offering contradictory explanations about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) system malfunction.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks as US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin looks on in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a national ground stop “due to extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety” following the agency’s earlier report of serious air traffic control communications issues, in Washington, DC, US, November 13, 2026.
He blamed aging equipment from the 1980s, warning that it will fail again—while Mullin said the “new equipment, new technology … was overwhelming the older system.”
It was a car crash of a conference, full of awkward moments and contradictions.
Duffy then praised President Donald Trump before calling for $50 billion to upgrade air traffic control systems, up from the $30 billion he had sought earlier.
“This is an emergency,” he appealed. “I want $50 billion.”
A passenger walks by a flight board after the US Federal Aviation Administration lifted a national ground stop, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 14, 2026.
He then urged Congress—where Republicans still hold both chambers—to approve the funding.
His remarks hit a nerve on both sides of the aisle.
Former White House Chief Speechwriter Marc Thiessen insisted that “no one cares about political responsibility right now.”
Newsmax TV host Greg Kelly also chimed in: “NOT IMPRESSED with Sean Duffy. NOT explaining what the hell really happened.
People head to their flights after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide ground stop issued earlier due to “extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons,” following reports of serious air traffic control communication issues, at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, US, November 14, 2026.
“Lecturing us and BORING us with a Budget Briefing. Too much time on that silly ‘road trip’??”
Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene reposted a clip of American Airlines pilot Mike McHugh, who had flown from Cancun to Phoenix and assured people that “everything had worked just fine.”
She said: “This was the press conference we needed last night, God bless him. Not that blackmail money shakedown full of nonsense we got demanding $50 billion more tax dollars to be safe to fly.”
Greene later added: “I’m literally blown away by the amount of people that fell for the total garbage that they got fed at that press conference yesterday.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene has been a fierce critic of the GOP’s efforts to avoid a government shutdown.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Piling on, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for Duffy’s resignation—or for Donald Trump to “remove him immediately.”
The Democrat said in a post on X: “From chronic air traffic controller shortages to repeated communications breakdowns, serious lapses in our aviation system have become a pattern on Sean Duffy’s watch.
“Through it all, he’s been more focused on starring in his own reality show than addressing the crisis at his agency.”
She urged Congress to launch a full investigation to determine “what went wrong and ensure it never happens again.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Transportation for comment.
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