Hillary Clinton has a lot to say about who should be working on America’s transportation infrastructure, but Sean Duffy isn’t interested in listening. The Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary fired back at Clinton’s latest round of complaints after she publicly criticized his partnership with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to overhaul the country’s outdated aviation system.
The controversy started when Duffy announced on X that DOT would team up with DOGE to modernize air traffic control technology, which, by his own account, hasn’t seen a significant upgrade since World War II. Clinton, never one to pass up an opportunity to take a shot at a Republican administration, responded by mocking the DOGE team, claiming they had “no relevant experience” and were “not even old enough to rent a car.”
Her argument? That the same bureaucracy that has failed for decades should somehow be trusted to fix the problem now. Appearing on Fox Business’ The Bottom Line, Duffy didn’t hold back in calling out Clinton’s out-of-touch criticism:
“Listen, I wasn’t going to let it stand. Hillary Clinton wants to engage in a fight about a system that hasn’t been updated in decades. They tried to update it for the last 20 or 30 years and haven’t been able to do it. We’re using World War II technology. I’m not going to listen to Hillary Clinton.”
Duffy’s common-sense response couldn’t be clearer: The government’s own “experienced” bureaucrats have let the system crumble, so it’s time to bring in people who actually innovate—starting with Elon Musk and his engineers.
“I went to Elon Musk and said, ‘I need you to help me build. What are the best ideas from the engineers that Elon Musk has access to, but also on the Hill or in industry? Let’s all come together and envision an air traffic control system that will be safer, that will allow for more efficiencies, [and] make sure people don’t die in our airspace.’”
In short: If Musk can launch rockets into space and land them, he can figure out a better air traffic system than the Washington bureaucrats who have failed for decades.Duffy didn’t stop there. He called Clinton out directly, pointing out that the same career politicians she defends are responsible for America’s crumbling infrastructure:
“With all due respect, ‘experienced’ Washington bureaucrats are the reason our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. You need to sit this one out.”
And then came the knockout punch:
“I’m not going to go to Hillary Clinton. I’m not going to talk to her. But a guy that launches Teslas into space, launches people into space, rockets into space and then catches those rockets taken, I sure as hell am going to talk to that guy.”
The message was crystal clear: Clinton wants more government bureaucracy. Duffy wants innovation and results.
The timing of Clinton’s criticism couldn’t be worse.
Just one day after Duffy took over as DOT Secretary, a major aviation disaster struck:
- On Jan. 29, an American Airlines passenger jet collided with a military helicopter near Washington Reagan National Airport, killing all on board.
- Two days later, on Jan. 31, a small jet crashed into a neighborhood in Philadelphia, killing six people and injuring 19 bystanders.
These tragedies underscore exactly why America’s air traffic control system needs urgent reform—something Clinton and her bureaucratic allies have failed to deliver for decades.
Duffy’s takeaway?
“If you want to complain about that, whoever does [then] have at me. But I want the best minds, and Elon has access to them.”
And as for Clinton’s mockery of young engineers, Duffy took one final brutal swipe:
“Hillary and Bill know a lot about 22-year-olds. They can have that conversation. But I want the engineers that are 22-years-old helping us out.”
