Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Says Elon Musk Is Trying To Force Air Traffic Controller Layoffs Amid Slew Of Plane Crashes

by Angie SchlagerMarch 10, 2025, 11:55 pmNews >

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of attempting to lay off air traffic controllers despite the series of recent plane crashes. The heated exchange, as reported by the New York Times, occurred Thursday when President Donald Trump called his Cabinet into the Oval Office to clarify the scope of Musk’s authority.

Trump emphasized that Cabinet secretaries, not Musk, hold ultimate responsibility for staffing and policy decisions in their respective agencies, marking the first significant sign that the president was willing to put limits on Musk’s role in the administration.

Musk and Duffy clashed over proposed changes to air traffic control staffing during a heated exchange over the state of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

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The sources said Musk discussed the need for updates to the FAA’s tracking equipment, but tensions rose when Duffy accused Musk’s team of trying to lay off air traffic controllers. Duffy reportedly claimed that he heard it directly from Musk’s staff, but Musk denied it, calling it a “lie.” Musk also reportedly suggested that air traffic controllers hired through DEI programs were responsible for inefficiencies in control towers, though when pressed, he failed to provide specific examples.

“What am I supposed to do?” Duffy asked. “I have multiple plane crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire air traffic controllers?”

“Hire geniuses from M.I.T.,” he told Duffy. “These air traffic controllers need to be the best.”

Tensions were also high between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the closed-door meeting as Musk accused Rubio of failing to cut his department’s workforce.

“What about the more than 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement in buyouts?” Rubio asked. “Do you want me to rehire them just so I can fire them again?” He then laid out his reorganization plans for the department.