Former Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X after a White House press conference in which Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin attributed a nationwide FAA ground stop to overloaded aging systems and called for $50 billion in emergency funding. According to the post, Greene described the remarks as a “shakedown” for more taxpayer money while criticizing spending priorities amid high national debt. Online users reacted to the comments, with many accusing her of hypocrisy on infrastructure and America First priorities.
In the post, Greene responded to a White House press conference held after the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop. She called the briefing “unreal *expletive*” and “literally like a shakedown for more money,” arguing officials blamed “old antiquated systems and old hardware” while seeking $50 billion, and contrasting that request with foreign war spending and a national debt above $40 trillion. A follow-up post stated, “Plus they are lying. Of course it was a cyber attack.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said outdated routers and switches became overloaded with data, producing inconsistent information that led the FAA to halt departures for more than four hours as a safety measure. Mullin stated there was “zero evidence” of a cyberattack at the time, though the investigation continued, and officials said no one was injured.
Congress had previously approved $12.5 billion for air traffic control modernization, with the administration later raising its request from about $30 billion to $50 billion for a full overhaul. Greene’s cyberattack claim has not been independently confirmed and contradicts the officials’ statements.
Responses to Former Congresswoman Greene’s Comments on the FAA Funding Request
Some users criticized her for opposing the funding request and accused her of hypocrisy on infrastructure priorities. One wrote, “You spent years telling us to put America first. Now when the money is for American infrastructure and American safety, suddenly it’s a ‘shakedown’? Pick a lane.”
Another commented, “You are an absolute moron. The software that was just replaced that keeps those planes in the sky was written in the 1960s by my uncle… This was an issue YOU could have taken up.”
A third said, “You could’ve fought to fund and fix this during the Biden administration, but you didn’t.”
Others supported her emphasis on spending priorities and skepticism of the official explanation. One reply stated, “Just think: $50 billion spent on the Iran war could have been used to fix and upgrade the FAA’s communications systems.”
Another wrote, “Nah, that’s exactly what is being used because it’s never been funded by the suits that are supposed to represent and ‘care’ about us.”
The exchange adds another moment to the ongoing debate over funding for the nation’s air traffic control system. Discussion of the post and the underlying outage continues online and among lawmakers.
