Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday largely blamed a string of problems plaguing Newark Liberty International Airport and the larger flight system on the Biden administration — though he also seemed to accidentally indict Trump for not doing more.
As officials begin to reduce flights to stem the crisis, Duffy said in a press conference that Newark’s recent issues — which have included radar outages, software problems, flight delays, and a lack of air traffic controllers — were “left to us from the Biden-Buttigieg administration,” referring to the former president and Pete Buttigieg, his Democratic predecessor.
“We didn’t have to be here. This did not have to be our story. Over the last four years, the last administration, they knew this was a problem,” Duffy added. “And by the way, during Covid, when people weren’t flying, that was a perfect time to fix these problems.”
That period would also cover 2020, Donald Trump’s final year in office.
Critics of the administration quickly pounced on the statement.
“Blaming Biden for Trump’s actions in his first term is an impressive new category of mental gymnastics,” progressive commentator Brian Tyler Cohen wrote on X.
Nonetheless, Duffy accused the previous administration of failing to take action and focusing on issues like working at home and inclusive language for air workers.
As NJ.com notes, the Biden administration also pushed Congress to approve funding for 2,000 new air traffic controllers, and exceeded its 2024 hiring goals for such workers.
Regardless of who’s to blame for the problem, fixes remain urgently needed, as delays and under-staffing reportedly continue at Newark, one of the country’s busiest airports and a hub for United Airlines.
As few as three of a target of 14 air traffic controllers were scheduled to work Monday evening, The New York Times reports.
In a statement to the paper, a Buttigieg spokesperson chastised Duffy.
“Secretary Duffy has a tough job,” the spokesperson said. “But he needs to spend more time doing what the American people are paying him to do — fix problems — and less time blaming others.”
The Trump administration plans to reduce flights going in and out of the airport, install upgrades to fiber-optic cables connecting it to its air traffic control facility.
A series of aviation disasters have occurred since Trump took office, including a collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington, but Duffy said Monday it was a “falsehood” these problems were rooted in changes that occurred since he took office.
