Duffy Seeks $50 Billion for Air Safety—Republicans, Where Have You Been?

According to Duffy, we are operating with technology dating back to the 1980s. He threw his own party’s Congressional majority under the bus and accused them of failing to fund the billions necessary to fix the problem.

Really Sean? I have some questions for you:

Who’s Been Running Our Government?

Donald Trump has occupied the White House for almost six of the last ten years. For the past two years, he’s held majorities in both Houses. If our air traffic control system has been dangerously outdated for decades, what did either of his administrations do about it?

The Big, Beautiful Bill: Tax Cuts for the Ultra-Wealthy—Not Safety.

Republicans controlled both houses of Congress when Trump returned to office. In 2025, they passed Trump’s so-called ‘Big, Beautiful’ massive tax-and-spending legislation. That bill secured $12.5 billion for air traffic control modernization. If it wasn’t enough, why not fund the rest? You had the votes. Why wasn’t an infrastructure problem that threatens the safety and efficiency of American aviation a priority?

Trump consistently demonstrates that he knows how to get things done without Congressional approval. So why is Duffy presenting Congress as the obstacle rather than explaining the administration’s own funding decisions?

Let’s discuss priorities.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Trump’s 2025 tax legislation will reduce federal revenues by approximately $4.9 trillion over ten years. Higher-income households receive a disproportionate share of the benefits.

Meanwhile, according to his transportation secretary, America needs tens of billions of dollars to modernize the systems that keep aircraft moving safely through our skies.

Instead of cutting taxes for the ultra-wealthy, why not dedicate a relatively small portion of those tax reductions to completing that modernization? Why not ask the wealthiest Americans to contribute more toward the safety of an aviation system they use, just as ordinary Americans do?

And here’s another question raised by Duffy’s pitch: In September, he publicly requested $30 billion to fix this very problem. He got $12.5 billion from the Big, Beautiful Bill. Why does he suddenly need $50 billion when it was $30 billion two months ago, and does his calculation include the $12.5 billion?

The American people deserve a clear accounting, not a collection of shifting numbers delivered during a national emergency.

Priorities: Ballrooms, Arches, and Vanity Projects

While America suffers this crumbling airspace infrastructure, Donald Trump devotes considerable attention to transforming Washington’s appearance.

His White House ballroom project has ballooned to $600 million. An additional $15 million has been earmarked to build an arch near Arlington National Cemetery. His unnecessary war with Iran has cost just over $47 billion and will cost $2-3 billion every month it continues.

The war’s cost alone could have fixed the airspace problem, leaving money for some of Trump’s pet projects.

What are this administration’s priorities?

When Trump wants a ballroom, the project advances. When he wants an arch, plans are developed. When he wants a major tax package, congressional allies work to deliver it. But when the subject is modernizing the system that manages America’s air traffic, the transportation secretary tells us Congress needs to act. Why wasn’t this already one of the administration’s highest legislative priorities?

What Happened to Biden’s Infrastructure Program?

Here’s something else Duffy forgot to mention. We had a president who prioritized this issue. His name was Joe Biden. During the 2020 campaign, he promised to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure and create jobs.

When he became president, Biden kept his promise and signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That legislation provided $25 billion over five years for airport and air traffic control projects.

Where’s the money?

When Trump returned to office, his administration ordered reviews of infrastructure projects and paused, modified, or canceled some previously authorized funding. According to the Government Accountability Office, approximately $17.8 billion in infrastructure and related awards were canceled across several federal agencies.

What happened to the aviation modernization projects funded under Biden? Which were completed? Which continued? Which were delayed, modified, or canceled?

How much money remains available? And how much of the work Duffy now says is urgently necessary was already contemplated under the previous administration?

Instead of blaming Congress, perhaps he should account for the money Congress already appropriated. Did his boss squander it on vanity projects? Perhaps it went toward modernizing and retrofitting that “free” airplane the president received from Qatar.

The Six-Hour Question

Americans waited close to six hours for an explanation while an extraordinary disruption unfolded across the national aviation system. When officials finally addressed the public, they claimed the precise cause was still under investigation.

They reported no evidence of a cyberattack. Do you believe that? Do you believe anything these sycophants tell you? Did they make the whole thing up to get Congress to give them the money they seek? Would you put it past these guys?

Why did it take so long to provide a meaningful public explanation?

If the failure was real, was it caused by outdated equipment? A software problem? A communications network failure? An unsuccessful modernization effort? Some combination of old and new technology?

We got no straight answers to these questions during this nationwide aviation emergency. Instead, we got a testimonial to the supposed greatness of Donald Trump. By now, we recognize this from the employee handbook. If you want to work for this president, you must praise him in public, even when his screw-ups strand millions of air travelers at America’s airports.

Is the priority praising the boss, or the health and safety of the American people?

Competent government is not measured by how often cabinet secretaries praise the president. It is measured by how effectively they perform their responsibilities.

A Crisis Shouldn’t Become a Sales Pitch

There is no evidence that Friday’s shutdown was deliberately engineered to secure additional funding. And I have little doubt that America needs to modernize its air traffic control infrastructure. It is probably long overdue.

If the problem is as serious as Secretary Duffy says, Congress should scrutinize this administration’s funding decisions and priorities. For six of the past ten years, this administration has presided over and ignored an aging aviation system. The administration seeks to blame the Republican Congress, and maybe they share some blame. But the buck on spending and fundraising priorities stops with Donald Trump.

Contact your elected officials and demand an independent investigation into Friday’s outage, a detailed explanation of the technical failures, a transparent accounting of existing modernization funds, and a credible plan for completing the necessary improvements. The American people deserve public officials who understand their first obligation is to them—not to the political reputation of a lame-duck president.

Secretary Duffy: Why did America’s air traffic control system fail? What will it cost to fix the problem? Why hasn’t the government already done so?

It sure as hell isn’t because Donald Trump is “the greatest president in history.”

Of all the lies you told the American people Friday night, that one was the biggest.

Mark M. Bello is an attorney and award-winning author of the Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series, ripped-from-the-headlines, realistic fiction that speaks truth to power and champions the rights of citizens in our justice system. These novels are dedicated to the social justice movement. They educate, spark discussion, and inspire readers to action. One of these was “Betrayal of Justice, a blistering novel about presidential misconduct and hypocrisy” For more information, please visit www.markmbello.com.