Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is facing sharp criticism and a blunt demand from an enraged blue-state governor as he deals with an airspace crisis.
In a Saturday post on X, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) went after Duffy in a tirade that called on President Donald Trump to cut him from his post. "Sean Duffy must resign, or President Trump must remove him immediately," Hochul wrote. Flights halted nationwide on Friday, and Hochul's frustrations came as Duffy spoke to the press on Saturday.
"America's airspace ground to a halt yesterday, leaving thousands of flights canceled and travelers stranded across the country," Hochul posted on X. "More than 3,500 planes were already in the air as radar and communications systems faltered. We're fortunate no lives were lost."
For Hochul, the grounding on Friday was no fluke but the result of repeated failures by Duffy at the Department of Transportation. "From chronic air traffic controller shortages to repeated communications breakdowns, serious lapses in our aviation system have become a pattern on Sean Duffy's watch," she wrote.
"Through it all, he's been more focused on starring in his own reality show than addressing the crisis at his agency," Hochul added, before making a demand for Congress to launch an investigation into what happened and find out who or what's responsible.
"With millions of Americans preparing to travel for the holidays, families deserve answers and confidence in the safety of our skies," Hochul wrote. "Congress must launch a full investigation to determine what went wrong and ensure it never happens again."
Hochul's post had racked up more than 17,000 views on X within hours of going up.
