Duffy pins ground stop on Congress's lack of funding

President Donald Trump broke his silence on the nationwide ground stop that disrupted airline travel this weekend, using the incident to advocate for Congress to fund the upgrade of America's air traffic control system. The Republican president had been notably silent on the ground stop since it began on Friday afternoon, instead sharing statements on social media about unrelated topics as stranded passengers expressed frustration.

On Sunday, Trump posted on his social media platform, stating that his administration had initiated the upgrade of the air traffic control system, but emphasized that it should not be a gradual process. He called for Congress to approve the necessary funding for this overhaul. The $12.5 billion allocated to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of the Republican-controlled Congress's tax cut package last year was seen as a down payment on a broader system upgrade.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has repeatedly characterized this funding as insufficient. In his social media posts, Trump criticized the aging air traffic control system, highlighting that much of it was over 50 years old, describing it as "ridiculous." He also expressed discontent with his Democratic predecessor and the current administration, accusing them of worsening an "old and broken system."

Duffy, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," pleaded for Congress to approve additional funds for air traffic control system upgrades, attributing the issue to a lack of investment over several decades. He mentioned that the problem began when L3Harris Technologies Inc. replaced a section of old copper wire with new fiber wire, causing a system overload at FAA facilities in Texas and Arkansas.

The cascading issue eventually led to the ground stop across the country. Duffy assured that the situation should return to full capacity by the end of the day and into Monday.