Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy put failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in her place after she complained about members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) helping to upgrade the nation’s aviation system.
On Wednesday, Duffy wrote a post on X in which he announced that the DOGE team is “going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.”
This apparently didn’t sit well with Clinton, who posted her own response:
They have no relevant experience.
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 replied, pointing out that “Washington bureaucrats are the reason our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling” and told her to “sit this one out.”
Madam Secretary, with all due respect, “experienced” Washington bureaucrats are the reason our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. You need to sit this one out.
Madam Secretary, with all due respect, “experienced” Washington bureaucrats are the reason our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. You need to sit this one out. pic.twitter.com/6IhE5xLxV8
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 5, 2025
Concerns over America’s aviation system came to the forefront after an American Airlines flight crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter doing training exercises near Reagan National Airport in Arlington, VA. All 67 passengers on the helicopter and airplane perished in the accident.
As Townhall’s Matt Vespa pointed out, “There have indeed been many close calls at Reagan. There’s too much congestion, with differing flight patterns that likely contributed to Wednesday night’s disaster.”
NYT: “An Army helicopter may have deviated from its approved flight path before its deadly collision with an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River, the latest details to emerge as investigators combed the crash site for clues”
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) January 31, 2025
Elon Musk recently announced that DOGE will look into “rapid safety upgrades” to the country’s air traffic control system after the collision.
With the support of President @realDonaldTrump, the @DOGE team will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2025
Just a few days ago, the FAA’s primary aircraft safety notification system failed for several hours!https://t.co/WHwNNBN0Zd https://t.co/fwOJ9BUBX5
A White House spokesperson told The Hill, “The ongoing operations of DOGE may be seen as disruptive by those entrenched in the federal bureaucracy, who resist change," but that change "is necessary and aligns with the mandate supported by more than 77 million American voters.”
Duffy nailed it in his exchange with Clinton. While folks on the left take umbrage at the existence of DOGE, it is clear that the old way of doing things isn’t working. The fact that Reagan Airport has had so many near misses is a clear indicator that improvements are desperately needed.
Perhaps instead of schoolmarming the Transportation Secretary of DOGE’s involvement, it would have been better for them to come up with actual solutions to the problem instead of playing politics.