‘I see that burn’: Sean Duffy warns 22 staffing triggers in one day is a sign air-traffic controllers ‘are wearing thin’
U.S. Transportation Sean Duffy sounded the alarm Sunday about the safety of American air travel, indicating he “can’t stop the frustration of air-traffic controllers” who face higher-than-normal stress levels as they continue to work without pay 26 days into the federal government shutdown.
“You can see the stress, these people that often times live paycheck to paycheck,” Duffy said on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel. “I see that burn coming from the controllers.”
“They’re concerned about gas in the car. They’re concerned about child care and mortgages. And so I’m seeing the stress come for the controllers. Just yesterday, Maria, we had 22 staffing triggers. That’s one of the highest that we’ve seen in the system since the shutdown began and that’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin.
“They’re taking second jobs. They’re out here looking, ‘Can I drive Uber? Can I find another source of income to make ends meet until Democrats stop with their radical push for illegal migrants and actually open up the government?'”
Duffy explained: “We have more people calling in sick, more people not showing up for work.”
“There’s real life situations that they’re dealing with their families. I was in one of the towers, and they were celebrating the fact that the airlines had sent them lunch and sent them dinner. I don’t want air-traffic controllers going to a food bank.”
On Tuesday, 13,000 air traffic controllers will get a $0 paycheck because Democrats are holding the government hostage.
I don’t want our controllers going to a FOOD BANK! The fact that they are having to think about how to put food on the table is UNACCEPTABLE.
End the… pic.twitter.com/lwyxzHpYB1
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) October 26, 2025
“The fact that they have to think about how they put food on the table, they need airlines to put food into the towers so they can have lunch or dinner is outrageous.”
Duffy said in the next two or three days, he expects “more staffing shortages in towers which means you’re gonna see more delays, more cancellations and then you see more Americans frustrated at Democrats and they’ll say open up the government. Enough is enough.”
When Bartiromo asked Duffy if it is even safe to fly at the current time, Duffy replied: “I need my controllers focused on the airspace, not about the finances at home. They’ll tell me there is that seepage of how they’re gonna deal with those finances. My job is to keep the airspace safe.”
“And so if I don’t feel like I have enough controllers, or enough controllers that are focused, we will slow down traffic, we will stop traffic. And that’s why you see the delays in the system. And the job No. 1 is, again, get people to where they’re going safely. If it’s not on time, call the Democrats, call Chuck Schumer. if you’re frustrated that you have a staffing shortage and your flight’s three hours delayed or your flight is canceled, call Chuck, call Senate Democrats because this is the reason why.”
BARTIROMO: Is it even safe to fly right now?
DUFFY: I need my controllers focused on the airspace, not about the finances at home. They’ll tell me there is that seepage of, how are they gonna deal with those finances?
(Not a yes!) pic.twitter.com/TDxiKpbD5b
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 26, 2025
Duffy: “What I love about President Trump — I love that you showed him dancing, having a good time — President Trump cares about the American people. He’s tried to minimize the impact of Democrat shutdown on the American people.” pic.twitter.com/Hx155Dqowc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 26, 2025
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