Air War: Duffy Lays Blame On Hegseth‘s Agency For Mishaps

The months of worries about risks to safety at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport have turned into a public war of words involving the two former Fox News personalities who head President Donald Trump’s Transportation and Defense departments — until DOT Secretary Sean Duffy began trying to patch up the rift late Tuesday afternoon.

Appearing on Fox News, Duffy said he wants to "commend Secretary Hegseth" for suspending helicopter flights to the Pentagon, some of which have disrupted airline traffic in the region. "We're going to look at it together and figure out what is the pathway forward,” Duffy said.

His remarks came less than a day after he went on Fox News and berated the Defense Department for being closed-mouthed about its helicopter operations. "The DOD has promised radical transparency,” he said on Monday. “They should tell us who is qualified to take a helicopter out of the Pentagon. I don't know. But they have to tell us."

But Duffy had moderated that tone by Tuesday. In addition to his Tuesday afternoon television appearance, in a statement to POLITICO Duffy said that the two agencies are working to find a solution “that addresses the military’s needs while also maintaining safety for the traveling public” and praising his and Hegseth’s “long-standing relationship.”

Hegseth’s department, meanwhile, hasn’t said anything publicly responding to Duffy’s comments. The Pentagon did not return a request for comment on his remarks.

The days of friction between DOT and the Pentagon — while far from unique in Trump’s administration — has played out on an unusual public stage during the past week, more than three months after a collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet killed 67 people in the skies near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

That crash, the nation’s worst air disaster in almost a quarter-century, heightened scrutiny over the military helicopters that course through the crowded passenger airspace near Washington, prompting questions about how many of them are used to ferry around military or political VIPs. Some of those helicopters refuse to switch on transmitters that would give air traffic controllers a precise picture of the aircrafts’ position, speed and direction, citing sensitive operations.  

Testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee in March, Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman said the Army allows that transmitting technology to be turned off for sensitive missions, with commander approval — and that those procedures were being reviewed.

Months of grumbling from the FAA and lawmakers erupted anew on Friday after the aviation agency disclosed that two passenger planes had had to veer away from their paths toward the airport one day earlier to avoid colliding with another Army Black Hawk. An FAA official, in an email to lawmakers, complained that the military aircraft had taken “a scenic route around the Pentagon,” and Duffy followed up with a post on X declaring the incident “unacceptable” — adding, “I’ll be talking to the @DeptofDefense to ask why the hell our rules were disregarded.”

One Defense Department insider, granted anonymity to discuss the matter candidly, observed that typically Cabinet secretaries just call each other when they have an issue, but that in this “new era” of the Trump administration, they “go on Fox News.”

The clash comes as both Cabinet members have had to deal with problems of their own: Duffy has overseen serious concerns about flight delays, air traffic controller shortages and equipment outages that briefly removed controllers’ ability to see planes in real time around Newark, New Jersey, while Hegseth has been embroiled in a series of crises involving his use of an insecure communications app, alleged leaks from within his staff and a series of dismissals of military leaders.

On Monday, Duffy appeared on the Laura Ingraham show on Fox News — the same day the Army said it would suspend certain helicopter flights to the Pentagon, pending an internal review. He lit into the Pentagon for not disclosing more information about helicopter flights in the region.

“Those are the answers that we need," he said about the Pentagon’s helicopter operations. “When we have these near misses, you gotta stop the traffic."

Duffy wasn’t necessarily winning the public relations war in the exchange. The website Mediaite opined that Duffy had “squirmed” during Monday’s Fox appearance when Ingraham picked up a phone and offered to call Hegseth.

Some in the aviation industry, granted anonymity to discuss the matter candidly, said Duffy has seemed angry — and that the Pentagon probably didn't appreciate how the FAA portrayal of the flight that forced the airliner diversions as taking a "scenic route."

“Anyone who knows anything about military aviation operations would find this offensive,” the DOD insider said. The person added that the FAA's characterization suggests a “lack” of professionalism.

Sam Ogozalek contributed to this report.