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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended President Donald Trump against criticism from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, accusing him of neglecting key aviation safety issues during his tenure.
"There were 85 near misses in the Potomac before the DCA air crash. Pete did nothing," Duffy said on "Hannity."
"He spent $80 billion on DEI and on climate change. He lowered the standards for training at the FAA. He focused on pronouns at the FAA, but never worked to fix the air traffic control system, didn't work on bringing more air traffic controllers into the system, so what he's trying to do is rewrite his record because he wants to run for president, but the truth is he barely showed up at the DOT."
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a press conference on air traffic controller pay and the government shutdown at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 23 in Washington, D.C. (left). Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appears on the March 4 episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" (right). (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images (right))
Duffy’s comments came after Buttigieg took to X to criticize Trump for urging air traffic controllers to return to work amid widespread flight disruptions.
"The president wouldn’t last five minutes as an air traffic controller," Buttigieg wrote.
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A canceled flight is displayed on a departures screen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 7, 2025. Issues involving air traffic controllers, flight cancellations, delays and other disruptions have increased since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)
"And after everything they’ve been through — and the way this administration has treated them from day one — he has no business s---ing on them now."
Duffy went on to accuse Buttigieg of spending more time on political appearances than on transportation crises, calling him "no-show Pete" and reiterating that he "wants to rewrite his record so he can run for president."
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Buttigieg has been floated as a possible Democratic contender for 2028, along with other prominent party members like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
