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Trump Goon Haunted By Vote Against FAA Billions He Now Demands

Published by Daily Beast · United States 14 h ago
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy renewed his call for more FAA funding after Friday's air travel meltdown.Eric Lee/REUTERS
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy renewed his call for more FAA funding after Friday's air travel meltdown.Eric Lee/REUTERS · Daily Beast

Detailed summary

Sean Duffy is demanding $50 billion in funding. He previously voted against appropriating $10 billion to the FAA.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s voting record has come back to haunt him after Friday’s air travel meltdown.

Duffy, 55, demanded $50 billion from Congress to upgrade the “incredibly old” air traffic control system after a nationwide ground stop lasted four hours—money he says is desperately needed, even though he previously voted against more funding for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA abruptly grounded all flights due to “extraordinary circumstances” and “reasons of safety.” After the ground stop was lifted, Duffy deflected blame for the disaster in a press conference and demanded that Congress provide billions more in funding to his agency.

“President Trump has asked for the money,” he said. “He’s asked the Congress on a bipartisan approach to say, ‘Give us the resources to build a state-of-the-art air traffic control system. Let’s not do a patchwork fix to a system that’s critical for every single family.’”

“The president’s asked for $30 billion. I want $50 billion,” he continued. “Let’s invest so we never have to come at 8:30 at night and have a press conference on why air travel was shut down.”

But social media users quickly pointed out that Duffy once voted against a multi-faceted appropriations bill that would have given the FAA more than $10 billion in funding.

In 2019, when Duffy was a Wisconsin congressman and the government was in the throes of a long-running shutdown, he voted against the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

The measure passed the House but ultimately failed to break through the Senate and never became law. It would have provided more than $10.4 billion for the FAA, including funding for research and development, establishment of air navigation facilities, and air traffic organization activities.

The bill, introduced by Democrats, was opposed by House Republicans for several reasons, including concerns that President Donald Trump could veto it or that it would not be enough…

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