Sean Duffy, the new Secretary of Transportation of the United States, has said that he talked to the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an unofficial US government organization that has been making waves as it allegedly illegally has made attempts to cut the government’s spending by streamlining operations.
Helping upgrade the system
In a short statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, on February 5, Duffy announced “big news” that he talked to the DOGE team, which is going to plug in to help upgrade the US National Airspace System (NAS).
Despite X, formerly known as Twitter, becoming a far-right echo chamber over the past few months, as Musk had essentially purchased a seat next to Donald Trump, the president of the US, for over $250 million, the statement was met with sharp criticism. This included users pointing out the fact that some DOGE ‘officials’ have little to no government or even work experience.
Photo: DOT
According to Wired, some of the DOGE representatives are between 19 and 24, with most of the department’s employees having close ties to Musk himself. Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, confirmed that Musk was a special government employee, yet Leavitt was unsure whether the South African had security clearance.
Critique included a statement from Hillary Clinton, who ran against Donald Trump in 2016, who said that DOGE’s representatives have no relevant experience and that “most of them aren’t old enough to rent a car.”
“And you’re going to let them mess with airline safety that’s already deteriorated on your watch?”
Duffy rebuffed Clinton, sarcastically remarking that ‘experienced’ bureaucrats “are the reason our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling.”
“You need to sit this one out.”
Department of Justice (DOJ) counsels approved a court order that would limit DOGE’s access to sensitive Treasury Department data on February 5, according to Forbes. That was just one case where DOGE’s actions have resulted in lawsuits from various stakeholders, with the Musk-linked organization’s subordinates targeting multiple government agencies since Trump’s inauguration.
Following the controversial Office of Personnel Management (OPM) letter offering millions of federal workers to voluntarily move from “lower productivity” government jobs to “higher productivity” roles in the private sector, Duffy had to backtrack the offer within the Department of Transportation ( DOT
) and its agencies shortly after, telling CNN that jobs critical to safety, including air traffic controllers (ATC), would be exempt from the offer.
The letter was sent just a day after a PSA Airlines
Mitsubishi CRJ700, which was operating American Airlines Flight 5342
, and a US Army (USA) Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk collided mid-air near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on January 29.
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Sean Duffy already remarked that the DOT has been working hard to remove “government overreach.”
Infrastructure investments
During the Biden administration, the US Congress passed the Infrastructure Law (BIL) / Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which authorized $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure projects, including $550 billion toward ‘new’ investments and programs.
Meanwhile, Trump’s first administration pledges of $1 trillion in investments in infrastructure fell short, and in February 2018, the then-president introduced a plan to grant $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments.
The Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, a self-described nonpartisan research and policy institute, described the $1.5 trillion number as “a mirage” since the plan would “cut annual federal support for infrastructure in the long run and shift costs to states, cities, and private individuals.”
Photo: quiggyt4 | Shutterstock
However, Trump’s administration has yet to announce any infrastructure policies, with the administration being only several weeks into its tenure in the White House. Duffy’s first act as the head of the DOT was to “rescind woke policies, roll back burdensome and costly regulations, restore economic growth,” and ensure that the Department heels to the Administration.
At the same time, the DOT was quick to react to the Washington, DC, mid-air collision that claimed the lives of 67 people. In a statement on January 31, the Department said that with the support of Trump and in consultation with Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA
) restricted helicopter traffic around Washington-National Airport
.
“These restrictions will remain in place until the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board – ed. note] completes its preliminary investigation of the air carrier incident at which point it will be reviewed based on NTSB’s report.”
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the DOT, still does not have an Administrator or a Deputy Administrator.
Air travel problems
Whatever the case might be, the post-pandemic travel rush was an inflection point for the NAS. Multitudes of near-misses have occurred at airports across the US, with the FAA having been short on ATC staff since the pandemic ended.
In June 2023, the DOT’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report that concluded that 20 out of 26 critical ATC facilities were staffed below the FAA’s 85% threshold. The pandemic resulted in training pauses for nearly two years, significantly increasing controller certification times.
“FAA will not know the full impact of the training suspension on certification times for several years because training outcomes vary widely, and it can take more than 3 years to train a controller.”
Photo: The Bold Bureau | Shutterstock
The FAA’s systems are also outdated and have been experiencing issues, including Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system outages in January 2023 and on February 1. During the latter event, there was no impact on the NAS since the backup system ensured that flights could operate safely. According to the FAA’s statements, the main system was operational by February 2.
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Trump said that he based his claims that the crash could be blamed on diversity policies within the FAA on his “common sense.”
