A CBS reporter appeared to stun Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy by asking why he consulted with Tesla CEO and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chairman Elon Musk on improvements to the air traffic control system during a Thursday interview.
Duffy has been addressing air traffic control issues following a deadly mid-air collision between a commuter flight and an Army UH-60 Blackhawk on Jan. 29 that killed all 67 people on both aircraft. CBS reporter Kris Van Cleave reported that Duffy had Musk tour the Federal Aviation Administration’s command center to get feedback from staffers on the current system and suggested improvements.
“Why wouldn’t I ask Elon Musk? Why wouldn’t I ask some of the best minds in the world to come in and offer us advice on how they think we can improve the system?” an incredulous Duffy said, with Van Cleave asking, “How do you avoid the potential conflicts of interest with Elon Musk?”
WATCH:
“I don’t want to see conflicts of interest, so he was talking to air traffic controllers, didn’t plug into the system, but looked at the terminals that they use, the technology that they use, asked them, had a back and forth about what works well for you, what doesn’t work well,” Duffy responded.
President Donald Trump named Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as co-chairs of DOGE on Nov. 12. Ramaswamy stepped down as co-chairman of DOGE on Jan. 20 and later filed paperwork to run for governor of Ohio.
Musk founded The Boring Company, which digs tunnels, was a co-founder of OpenAI, purchased Twitter and rebranded it as X while launching XAI. Musk also founded Neuralink, which designs chips and software to help people with brain and spinal injuries. SpaceX was the first private company to launch astronauts into space, and Musk has repeatedly stated his ambitions to colonize Mars.
Despite claims in the media by Democrats, no air traffic controllers have been fired by the Trump administration.
“When you think of DOGE or America thinks of DOGE, they think of cutting, right? We’re in the space of building,” Duffy told Van Cleave. “I want advice on how do we build up better infrastructure. And we’re going to spend money to do that.”
“We have to get — get rid of the red tape and we have to do this very quickly,” Duffy added. “We can’t wait 4 years, 6 years, 10 years. We have to do it right now.”
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