May 14, 2025
Lawmakers today questioned Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about recent incidents at Newark and the status of grants during a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. Duffy was on the Hill to discuss the department’s fiscal year 2026 budget request.
Witness: DOT Secretary Sean Duffy
ATC Reform/Newark
- Several lawmakers discussed recent technology outages and controller staffing challenges at Newark Liberty International Airport. The secretary said that DOT is working at “lightning speed” to upgrade telecommunications connections from copper to fiber-optic lines. He also said the agency is working closely with airlines to reduce the number of flights at the airport.
- Lawmakers also questioned Duffy about air traffic control reform and DOT’s plans to hire more controllers. The Secretary said that DOT is working to streamline the testing of controllers and is on track to hire 2,000 controllers this year despite the current 35 percent washout rate, which the agency is trying to reduce.
FY26 Budget Request
- Subcommittee Chairman Steve Womack (R-AR) pointed out that the committee is still waiting for details about administration’s FY26 budget request. “While the ‘skinny’ budget request demonstrates your commitment to making some critical investments to modernize our transportation systems, there is still much about this request that remains unknown as we await the full FY26 budget,” Womack said.
- Duffy reminded lawmakers that DOT was one of the few non-defense agencies to receive an increase in the administration’s budget request with $1.5 billion more than the FY25 enacted level. But he didn’t provide more details for committee members who are responsible for drafting the House version of the FY26 DOT spending bill.
Status of Grants
- Lawmakers questioned Duffy about the status of grants that communities in their respective districts are waiting to receive. The secretary mentioned that he inherited 3,200 projects from the previous administration, requiring new grant agreements. Chairman Womack said that DOT has cleared 480 grant agreements so far, or 15 percent.
- Duffy said that that department is working at “near record pace” to get through the backlog. He told lawmakers that he expects the pace of grant agreements to pick up soon. Duffy went on to blame the previous administration for being “unorganized” and “unfocused” and for leaving the Trump administration with an unprecedented backlog of grants requiring their attention.
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