Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sparred with Democrats at a House Appropriation Subcommittee budget hearing on Wednesday, pushing back against claims 400 air traffic controllers have been let go. (Kena Betancur/AFP | Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., took issue with the move and drew on personal experience to justify it.
"My late wife... had to walk two and a half miles to school every morning right past the White school, where the White kids had buses. That was social injustice," Clyburn said. "Now all of a sudden we see this as wasteful government spending? I don't think so. I think this is a wise investment in a country that has challenges that we need all people involved in."
Duffy, while praising Clyburn’s history and work as an elected official, clarified that he wasn’t attacking the broader concept of social justice, but rather specific policy conditions under the Biden administration.
"What I see with the climate and the social justice requirements in the projects that you so dearly want built, that it's adding costs on," Duffy said. "It's costing more money. If we take out 5 to 10% climate or social justice, that’s money we don’t have for additional projects. And that’s my concern."
Airplanes sit parked at gates at Newark Liberty International Airport on Dec. 4, 2024, in New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
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In terms of the recent outages at Newark Airport, he blamed them on missteps by the previous administration, citing an ill-planned transfer of airspace control from New York to Philadelphia.
"They didn’t test and make sure the lines were hardened… and they didn’t move the STARS system, which helps interpret radar," Duffy said.
"We’re working at lightning speed and pace to get this resolved," he said.
To ease pressure on the system, the FAA is also working with airlines to reduce flight volumes, he said.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/duffy-clashes-democrats-over-dei-funding-cuts-denies-air-traffic-controllers-let-go