Sean Duffy, the reality star who became Secretary of Transportation, is no better at accepting responsibility than his boss.
In a softball interview on Fox News Saturday evening, host Lara Trump inquired about the January plane crash in Washington, D.C., which claimed 64 lives and was blamed by Elon Musk on outdated communication systems used by air traffic control.
“All of the crashes that have occurred during our first two weeks in office have nothing to do with air traffic control,” Duffy stated on My View with Lara Trump. “But it’s given us a focus.”
In February, Duffy announced a plan to “supercharge” the force of air traffic controllers by shortening the hiring process by four months and increasing pay for trainees.
During the interview, Duffy stated that the primary function of his department was safety. He emphasized that the Federal Aviation Administration only wants the “best and brightest” and that hiring for “other reasons” has no place in aviation—a clear reference to the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that the president and Musk blamed for the D.C. crash.
Duffy took direct aim at former President Joe Biden.
“The last administration, they focused on a lot on green, they focused on a lot of social justice,” Duffy told the crowd. “And we’re focused on actual infrastructure.”
Trump focused on air traffic controller technology, which Duffy has previously described as “outdated, World War II-era” and Musk has called “extremely dire.”
According to Duffy, air traffic control uses outdated technology such as copper wires, floppy disks, and old radios. The Transportation Department hopes to receive additional funding soon so that it can make the necessary changes, he said.
“If we can get the money up front and move fast, we think we can get it done very quickly,” Duffy told the crowd. “But if we don’t act now, we won’t have another five or ten years. This system will inevitably fail, putting people’s lives in danger.”
Earlier this week, Duffy clashed with Musk over the Department of Government Efficiency’s alleged attempts to fire air traffic controllers, an accusation Musk dismissed as false, despite Duffy’s claim to have heard it directly from DOGE employees. Musk asked Duffy to provide the names of fired employees, but he said there were none because he had intervened.
Musk begged retired air traffic controllers to return to work, tweeting on February 27: “There is a shortage of top-tier air traffic controllers. If you have retired but are interested in returning to work, please do so.”
