Overview

• Duffy said on "Pod Force One" that he drew a red line at cutting safety-critical roles, specifically refusing to fire air traffic controllers under Musk’s headcount push.
• He clarified the dispute took place before the Jan. 29 collision near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people.
• The secretary asserted that as the Senate-confirmed head of DOT, he alone makes staffing decisions, rejecting outside influence even from Musk.
• While praising Musk’s innovation, Duffy described some DOGE recommendations as ham-handed and insisted efficiency improvements must not compromise safety.
• Until late May, Musk led the DOGE initiative’s aggressive cost-cutting across federal agencies, clashing with officials including Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent before its influence waned.