SPARE US THE LECTURE, SECRETARY DUFFY

After yesterday's five-hour ground stop -- only the third in U.S. history, and the second since 9/11 -- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared at a joint news conference with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and decided that the appropriate tone to take was Mean, Angry, Self-Righteous Dad. You really need to watch the clips below to understand how obnoxious Duffy was.

Duffy demanded an emergency appropriation to fix the air traffic control system, and talked as if he and the rest of the Executive Branch were blameless in this matter.

Sean Duffy: “I want $50 billion”

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 13, 2026 at 8:43 PM

I've asked, the president's asked, for 30 billion dollars. I want 50 billion dollars. And by the way, if you look at how much money Congress spends -- Peter [Fox's Peter Doocy], you've covered Congress. They waste a lot of money. What's more important than having an air traffic control system that actually works?

But like the Iraninan nuclear program, this is a problem the administration claimed to have addressed before telling us it needed to address it as an unsolved problem. Here's a press release the White House issued in July 2025, after the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill (click to enlarge):

If you can't read that, the block of text in the upper right says:

The One Big Beautiful Bill invests $12.5 billion to overhaul America’s outdated and failing air traffic control systems. This long-overdue modernization fulfills President Trump’s vision to bring safety, efficiency, and world-class innovation to America’s skies.

To be fair, the White House admitted below this that the $12.5 billion was just "A bold step toward transforming our national airspace and making flying safer, faster, and more reliable," implying that more was needed.

But nothing has been done to augment this $12.5 billion for more than a year, as NBC's Monica Alba reminded Duffy. His response to her question was a Trumpesque demand to know which news organization she represented, and a refusal to address the substance of her question.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy: I can't build things if I don't have money. Reporter: The President has been in office for almost two years now so why hasn't this been a bigger priority for the President? Republicans control both chambers of Congress. Duffy: Where are you from? What network?

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— Brian Krijgsman (@briankrijgsman.bsky.social) November 14, 2026 at 4:17 AM

Let's skip past some of Duffy's self-righteous bluster (and his assertion that "this is the greatest country -- by the way, with the greatest president") and go to 0:44:

DUFFY: How many times does this have to happen before Congress gives the money to fix it?

ALBA: The Trump administration has been in office for almost two years now, sir. So why hasn't this been a bigger priority for the president? Republicans control both chambers of Congress --

DUFFY: Where are you from?

ALBA: -- and still do.

DUFFY: What network?

ALBA: I'm with NBC News, sir.

DUFFY: NBC. So maybe you haven't covered the, um, hundred-plus press conferences that I've done on this issue, that have been led by the president, but I know Fox has....

And on and on it goes. She's asking why a Republican administration hasn't worked with a Republican Congress to get this done if it's so important, and he just says Congress is the villain and patronizes Alba.

In fact, there is a bill to appropriate $30 billion more for this. Here's a press release dated September 29, 2026:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today joined Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) to call on Congress to pass the Modern Skies Act. This historic legislation – introduced today – will invest $30 billion to modernize the digital architecture our air traffic control system relies on, replace crumbling aviation infrastructure, and build world-class airports across the country. This funding is the crucial final step in the Trump Administration’s historic effort to fix the flying experience for the American people and prevent recent travel meltdowns from ever occurring again.

There's just one problem: this bill was introduced twelve days after Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the House until after the midterms. Why wasn't this a higher priority? Why didn't Secretary Duffy and "the greatest president" demand that a Congress controlled by their own party get the money passed this year, in between adjournments?

That didn't happen, so spare us the lecture, Sean.