Duffy on cuts at FAA: 'We kept all the critical safety positions'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday defended workforce cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), saying that people in “critical safety positions” were kept and that the only people dismissed were those who had been working there for less than a year.

“At FAA, we cut 352 people out of 50 … sorry, 46,000 people. That's 0.8 percent of the workforce. These were probationary workers. They were employed for less than a year at [the Department of Transportation (DOT)],” Duffy said in an interview with Fox News's Bill Hemmer on "America's Newsroom."

“So, these weren't the old school, really ingrained employees of the DOT. And not only that, we kept all the critical safety positions, and we actually hired more positions into critical safety, like air traffic controllers,” he added.

The administration has moved to dismiss tens of thousands of probationary workers across the federal government. Cuts at the FAA have sparked concerns that reductions could impact the safety of air travel, particularly after nerves were frayed by the deadly collision between two aircraft near Reagan Washington National Airport in January. That was the wost airplane crash in the United States in more than a decade.

Probationary workers were given notice of their firing in a late email, according to David Spero, the president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union.

The Associated Press reported that according to an air traffic controller, those impacted by the firings included people hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance.

“For people to say that because we cut 352 people out of … 46,000, that that's a risk to safety, give me a break,” Duffy said in his “America’s Newsroom” appearance.

Topics

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says FAA cuts won't affect flight safety

On his first full day as transportation secretary, Sean Duffy faced the deadliest U.S. aviation accident in more than 20 years. The midair collision near Washington, D.C., killed 67 people and just ...
CBS News - 3d
Dems demand answers on workforce safety cuts

Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Dems demand answers on workforce safety cuts The top Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the ...
The Hill - 2d
Former FAA worker speaks out after firing, says he is "deeply concerned" for public safety

The Trump administration cut about 400 probationary FAA workers last weekend. Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, former FAA national defense program worker, joins "The Daily Report" to discuss his firing ...
CBS News - 3d
U.S. envoy says talks with Ukraine are positive amid Trump criticism of Zelenskyy

Ukraine and European allies are being vigilant after a meeting between U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kellogg praised what he called a "positive" ...
CBS News - 3d
Jim Jordan derides critics of federal workforce cuts

He cited an example from the Washington Post about a locksmith.
Politico - 1d
Asteroids are headed this way – oh no! Are we all doomed? | First Dog on the Moon

Definitely maybe but probably not. Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog ...
The Guardian - 3d
White House pushes back on criticism of Trump spending cuts

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday said Americans support the massive job and spending cuts President Trump has enacted across the federal government since returning to the Oval ...
CBS News - 3d
Former Sony Boss Confirms What We Were All Thinking About PlayStation PC Ports

A couple of years ago, the idea of PlayStation-exclusive games being ported to PC would have seemed highly unlikely, but times have changed. Insomniac's Spider-Man games, Housemarque's Returnal, ...
GameSpot - 3d
While We Wait For State Of Decay 3, This Punishing New Zombie Game Is Hitting All The Right Notes

I've long appreciated State of Decay as the exciting middle ground between an approachable zombie game like Days Gone or Dead Rising , and unforgiving survival sims like DayZ and Project ...
GameSpot - 2d
2025 NFL cut candidates for all 32 teams: Kirk Cousins and Cooper Kupp are on the move

Kirk Cousins and Cooper Kupp are potential cap casualties as 2025 NFL free agency approaches.
Yahoo Sports - 4d
Sen. Booker says ‘we are seeing real crises’ across U.S. from Trump and Musk cuts: Full interview

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) says Americans are feeling the “pain” of federal cuts from the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency headed by billionaire Elon Musk.
NBC News - 1d
If road deaths were a virus, we’d call it a pandemic. Safer transport helps us all – and we need it urgently | Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Jean Todt

Deaths on the road costs countries up to 5% of GDP. Centring transport around people, not cars, can propel development. If you had to guess the leading cause of death for children and young people ...
The Guardian - 2d
Has Trump kept his day one promises?

It's been a busy first month, with a blizzard of activity, so we compare his pledges with what he has delivered.
BBC News - 1d
Trump Urged to Halt Firings at the FAA

After a string of deadly plane crashes, lawmakers and union members are urging the president to protect the transportation department from further personnel cuts.
The New York Times - 4d
These Are the SpaceX Engineers Already Working Inside the FAA

SpaceX engineers were said to be simply touring the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday. In fact, some were already being onboarded at the agency under a policy designed to increase ...
Wired - 5d
FDA’s Food Safety Chief Resigns

The chief said the loss of critical employees overseeing the nation’s food supply made his work impossible. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s new health secretary, has pledged to gut the division.
The New York Times - 6d
Sinkhole investigations delayed due to safety

Tandridge District Council said its "priority" is to support affected residents and businesses.
BBC News - 2d
Zegras Earns Hearing with Player Safety for Hit on Rasmussen

Per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras will soon face a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for his hit Sunday afternoon on Detroit Red Wings ...
Yahoo Sports - 6h
Layoffs hit FAA employees tasked with producing air traffic navigation maps

Terminated probationary employees at the FAA include some who work on the team responsible for producing air traffic navigation maps, sources told ABC News.
ABC News - 2d
Experts Call Foul on FAA Firings Following Aviation Accidents

The Federal Aviation Administration is the latest victim of Elon Musk’s DOGE firings, despite a recent spate of plane crashes.
Inc. - 3d
This tax break for lower-income retirement savers is a 'well-kept secret,' expert says

The retirement savings contributions credit, or saver's credit, can help offset funds added to retirement accounts. But most taxpayers don't claim it.
CNBC - 38m
Officials Are Fired at Traffic Safety Agency Investigating Musk’s Company

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has laid off 4 percent of its workers, a transportation official said. The agency has raised questions about crashes involving Tesla’s ...
The New York Times - 1d
Trump administration eliminating 2,000 USAid positions in US, notice says

All but handful of agency’s personnel around world to be placed on paid leave, according to notice sent to workers. The Trump administration on Sunday said it was placing all but a handful of USAid ...
The Guardian - 21h
Kenya’s Brimin Kipkorir suspended after testing positive for banned substances

AIU reveals ‘presence/use of EPO, furosemide’ in tests He previously won marathons in Sydney and Frankfurt The Kenyan marathon runner Brimin Kipkorir has been suspended provisionally, after he ...
The Guardian - 6h
Will quantum computers disrupt critical infrastructure?

Quantum computers will be able to crack existing encryption and threaten critical infrastructure.
BBC News - 3d
Pope critical but 'in good humour' in hospital

The pontiff is in good humour and eating normally though he remains "critical", Vatican sources say.
BBC News - 8h
Bolsonaro: Is it all over for the 'Trump of the Tropics'?

The former Brazilian president may struggle to stage a comeback.
BBC News - 3d
When we politicise everything we make society stupider

By losing our ability to see things at face value we are losing our grip on reality
Financial Times - 1d
Rosalind Eleazar: ‘Here we are, oversharing!’

The Slow Horses actor on big foreheads, small talk, and why Gary Oldman’s up for playing her in the film of her life. Born in London, Rosalind Eleazar, 36, graduated from Lamda in 2015. In 2019, ...
The Guardian - 2d
This Is Our Country, and We Have No Other

How long can Ukraine stand? For as long as Ukrainian soldiers, bent over from the extreme pressure, can hold on.
The New York Times - 1d
Are we heading toward a constitutional crisis?

President Trump, who tried to overturn the 2020 election result, has been shattering norms upon returning to the Oval Office. Since the nation's founding, the guardrails that have kept presidents ...
CBS News - 1d
Writer David Szalay: ‘We live in an era of short attention spans – we have to work with it the best we can’

The Hungarian-English author on addressing what it’s like to be a male body in the world, learning the tricks of literature from Frederick Forsyth, and the feeling of nearly winning the Booker. ...
The Guardian - 2d
Firings at FDA Decimated Teams for AI and Food Safety. Those Hires Are Now Gone.

Teams evaluating high-tech surgical robots and insulin-delivery systems were gutted by Trump layoffs even though industry fees, not taxpayers, financed the employee salaries.
The New York Times - 3d
Musk’s Team to Lay off Auto Safety Agency Workers Overseeing His Car Company

Elon Musk accused the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of holding back self-driving technology.
Inc. - 2d
2025 NFL free agency: Browns to release safety Juan Thornhill with post-June 1 designation, per report

Thornhill now hits the open market
CBS Sports - 6h
Raiders re-sign promising safety, nephew of Steelers Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu

Las Vegas has re-signed one of its rising stars
CBS Sports - 2h
Ros Atkins on... the fight for Ukraine's critical minerals

The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins looks at why the US wants access to Ukraine's minerals.
BBC News - 4d
Oilers Legend Wayne Gretzky Draws Criticism

EDMONTON -- "Keep politics out of sports."
Yahoo Sports - 3d
Firing of Joint Chiefs Chairman and Others Draws Criticism

Democratic lawmakers and retired military officers expressed concern about the politicization of the military under President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The New York Times - 2d