Murray Slams Sweeping Funding Freeze at DOT, Grills Duffy on Massive Staffing Cuts at FAA, Across DOT
WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks and questioning
Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Appropriations Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called out how this administration has illegally frozen, cancelled, and slow-walked federal funding for transportation projects across America and grilled Secretary Sean Duffy on how exactly the significant reductions in staff at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) impact the agency’s core mission of keeping Americans safe. She also pressed him to detail the significant cuts implied in President Trump’s preliminary budget request for DOT and asked when exactly the full budget will arrive.
In opening comments, Vice Chair Murray said:
“Secretary Duffy, let me turn to you, as you know, every day, billions of dollars in commerce and countless lives depend on your agency to keep our roads, our rails, our skies, and our ports running safely and smoothly.
“You are responsible for getting hundreds of billions of dollars provided by Congress out the door to build thousands of infrastructure projects across our country.
“Yet, since January 20, virtually every dollar and transportation project has been held up at some point, and you are causing a traffic jam. From freezing funding for projects, to creating new hurdles by re-evaluating grants that had already been approved, adding red tape by forcing unacceptable political demands on state and local transportation agencies, and outright actually cancelling and cutting grants.
“This is not normal.
“No prior transportation secretary has cut funding for previously awarded grants in this manner. It is really to me, a political and partisan approach that really actually sets a terrible precedent.
“I know at the House appropriations hearing yesterday, you blamed the previous Administration for absolutely everything. But I just want to say this today: the last administration did not make the decision to hold up thousands of grants, had nothing to do with the new red tape that you have created, and certainly did not let go of hundreds of staff that help get those grants out the door.
“In fact, the last administration increased the number of grants signed from 330 in its first year, to over 1,500 last year—executing more than 3,350 projects.
“So, you can’t blame Secretary Buttigieg or President Biden—it simply does not pass muster.
“All the while, we know you have pushed out nearly 5,000 DOT employees through firings and buyouts, and you have actually said you’ll fire thousands more.
“We don’t need fewer people keeping trains on the tracks, making sure air bags work, or rebuilding our roads and public transit systems.
“We actually need more of them.
“In recent months, we’ve seen unacceptable chaos at the Newark airport, the devastating crash at DCA, and too many other close calls.
“And while you talk about modernizing the air traffic control system, you have forced out more than 2,000 FAA employees who support those air traffic controllers: the technicians, the mechanics, the engineers, the IT specialists at the FAA who were working on modernization.
“Which I think is a huge mistake—and you just can’t paper over it.
“Now regarding your recent FAA proposal, I stand ready to work with Chair Collins, along with Chair Hyde-Smith and Ranking Member Gillibrand, to make sure that Congress does provide the resources FAA needs in our FY26 funding bill and across future years, in order to address the glaring issues and failures we’ve seen—and to do so without shortchanging any other priorities.”
[FAA WORKERS PUSHED OUT]
Senator Murray began her questioning by noting that modernizing the air traffic control system is critical—but that Secretary Duffy has pushed out thousands of critical support staff necessary for that work, stating: “On aviation safety, you have proposed to modernize the air traffic control system. This committee has jurisdiction over the FAA’s Facilities and Equipment funding, but your proposal was not included in the President’s FY26 budget. We need the actual dollars and cents plan. So let me ask you: how many of the over 2,000 FAA employees that have been pushed out over the last few months will be needed to be brought back in order to modernize the system?”
Secretary Duffy replied that he did not believe any of those lost employees would need to be brought back on, stating in part: “I don’t think any of them will need to be brought back.”
Senator Murray pushed back, noting that: “What we have seen is really critical employees to the mission, are now gone. As I said, technicians and mechanics. You can have all air traffic controllers there, but if they don't have the support staff, we can't know that they're doing the job.”
Secretary Duffy replied that he didn’t believe the over 2,000 FAA staff pushed out were a concern, stating: “I would say that we don't have a support staff issue with FAA. We don't have enough controllers for the skies that we have in America. So, that is the issue that I’m addressing.”
Senator Murray then noted: “Since you became Secretary, air traffic controllers have twice received ‘Fork in the Road’ emails encouraging them to resign, which you have, I know sent mistakenly, but it is—”
“But none of them have taken it, they can't take it because they're not included,” demurred Secretary Duffy.
Senator Murray continued, “Well, they received the email. You’re an employee. You got the same email. And I just think it’s really callous to suggest to controllers, these emails saying your work is not valued. So, do you know who sent those emails to our air traffic controllers?”
Secretary Duffy dodged.
“I just asked: who?” pressed Senator Murray.
“I don't know. I don't know. No, I don't know how they would have gotten those emails,” replied Secretary Duffy.
Senator Murray continued asking, “You don’t know who sent it? Nobody’s been fired for sending those emails?”
Secretary Duffy responded, in part: “That they would have had the wrong email for an air traffic controller versus someone else in the FAA? No, I'm not going to fire someone over that.”
Senator Murray continued, noting that essential oversight of Boeing must continue: “You and I have also talked about the importance of the FAA’s oversight of Boeing, and I know you visited there in March. I am going to be tracking carefully to make sure the more than 50 new staff needed to support Boeing oversight are hired and you have backfilled any employees.”
[PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS]
Senator Murray went on to ask Secretary Duffy about the preliminary budget request for DOT, which fails to detail large cuts that it proposes, stating: “The skinny budget that you sent to us proposes about a $3 billion increase to specific DOT programs—but overall, your topline only increases $1.5 billion. So, you spell out about $300 million in cuts directly, you leave one billion dollars in cuts that this budget implies that are not there. So, we need the details of that in order for us to do that. Do you know when we will get that?”
Secretary Duffy replied, “I don't have an exact date for the exact budget, but I look forward to getting it to you as quickly as possible. Obviously, we work with OMB on the whole—”
“You do realize the discrepancy in the numbers, that we need to see where it is,” pushed back Senator Murray.
“It’ll all match up when we give you the complete details,” said Secretary Duffy.
Senator Murray continued to inquire, “And do you know when that will be too?”
Secretary Duffy said again he had no details, “I don't have a date from OMB yet, when that's going to be completed.”
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