WASHINGTON –  Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, expressing deep concerns about the recent firings of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel and the troubling involvement of unaccountable entities, including SpaceX, in critical aviation safety decisions. The letter urges Duffy to prioritize the safety of America’s air travel system and to reverse recent cuts to essential FAA safety roles.

“We write to express our deep concerns with the recent firings of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel and the involvement of a cadre, unaccountable to the American people, in critical aviation safety decision making. The past week has seen mass firings of Federal workers, done without regard to personal performance, the impact on mission effectiveness, and the effect on the country’s ability to deliver services at home or compete abroad. We urge you to stand up for the safety of our national air space and reverse these devastating cuts in key safety roles,” wrote the senators.

The letter raises alarms about a series of concerning aviation incidents over the past month, including multiple crashes and close calls that highlight the need for highly trained, impartial professionals at the FAA. The lawmakers stressed the need for a commitment to safety, calling out the dangers of prioritizing political agendas over the well-being of American air travelers.

“We need experienced, qualified, and impartial professionals to investigate these unfortunate incidents, develop plans to prevent these types of accidents from occurring in the future, and implement those plans with the safety of the public as the sole and guiding objective,” wrote the senators.

In the letter, the senators also raised significant concerns regarding the role of SpaceX in the future of air traffic control, following public statements by Duffy that employees of Elon Musk’s company are involved in “deliver[ing] a new, world-class air traffic control system” and that his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is “plug[ged] in” to the country’s aviation system.

The lawmakers noted that the involvement of Musk’s employees in the FAA “is troubling given that SpaceX has been investigated and fined by the FAA for multiple incidences of safety violations, and is at this time actively under investigation by the FAA for additional safety violations.”

The letter calls for a series of detailed answers from Duffy regarding the role of SpaceX, the processes used to evaluate and select external contractors, and the impact of recent personnel terminations on the safety and effectiveness of FAA operations. The letter also demands a full public accounting of the decision-making process that led to these significant changes, with a commitment to ongoing transparency.

Text of the letter is available here.

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