Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy flatly rejected Democrat calls to take money from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pay for a full Federal Aviation Administration overhaul after Friday’s nationwide ground stop grounded flights for hours.
Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Duffy said the country can secure the border and modernize air traffic control at the same time, telling host Margaret Brennan, “We can do all things; we don’t have to pick one.”
Duffy explained that Congress already approved $12.5 billion for FAA upgrades in the One Big Beautiful Bill, but lawmakers restricted how the money can be spent.
Funds for new radar and radios are already obligated and will be deployed by the end of 2028, he said, yet Congress has not authorized the network, software, and telecom upgrades needed to replace decades-old copper-wire systems that failed Friday.
“Congress gave us $12.5B, but they were very specific about how we can spend it,” Duffy said. “There’s money for radar and radio, and it’s being spent right now — but Congress has not yet approved funding for badly needed network, software, or telecom modernization.”
WATCH:
.@SecDuffy: Congress gave us $12.5B, but they were very specific on how we can spend it. There’s money for radar and radio, and it’s being spent right now — but Congress has not yet approved funding for badly needed network, software, or telecom modernization. https://t.co/M0UAU5smz3
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 15, 2026
The pushback comes after Democrat Sen. Brian Schatz and others suggested taking tens of billions from the ICE supplemental funds; Congress provided roughly $75 billion for ICE in 2025 to avoid any new taxpayer spending on aviation.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Democrat North Carolina Congressman-elect Richard Ojeda wrote in a post on X, “How about we take $50 BILLION from DHS and ICE and put it toward rebuilding America?”
How about we take $50 BILLION from DHS and ICE and put it toward rebuilding America?
Instead of terrorizing communities, dragging people from their homes, and killing Americans in our streets, let’s rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create GOOD PAYING AMERICAN UNION JOBS.
For WORKERS. Not AI.
— Maj. (Ret.) Richard Ojeda (@Ojeda4America) November 14, 2026
Ojeda also accused the agency of “terrorizing communities, dragging people from their homes, and killing Americans in our streets.”
The post Duffy Torches Dems Over Plan to Raid ICE Cash for FAA: ‘We Don’t Have to Pick One’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
