Secretary Duffy addressed a disagreement with Elon Musk regarding pressure to fire air traffic controllers, emphasizing he would not make safety-critical cuts. He acknowledged discussions with Musk during a cabinet meeting prior to a tragic crash but stressed that media exaggeration played a role in the perception of their clash. Duffy confirmed that while efficiency was required, critical positions would remain intact under his leadership, highlighting the importance of decision-making within department heads without external influence.
Duffy confirmed there was a disagreement, but insisted that media reports played it up. The Transportation Secretary said the exchange with Musk occurred before the January D.C. crash that left dozens dead.
Duffy said he acknowledged there was fat to be cut and ways to be more efficient, but firing critical positions was not in the cards. We had a little back and forth, but we got along very well after that.
I think the papers made it a bigger deal than it was. Duffy said he would have been slaughtered if he followed the firing advice, emphasizing that it is the heads of departments that ultimately need to make such decisions.
Elon is an amazing innovator. He's creative. And again, there's a lot to learn from him, but I run this department... had I actually fired controllers, oh my, think what the liberal media would do to me.
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