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Michael Goodwin: Transportation Secretary Duffy’s call for more cash was off key. Money alone won’t fix the FAA.

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Goodwin, M. (2026, November 15). Michael Goodwin: Transportation Secretary Duffy’s call for more cash was off key. Money alone won’t fix the FAA. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/11/14/opinion/transportation-secretary-duffy-wont-stop-demanding-money/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-11-15 · by Michael Goodwin analysis

Quick Summary

Columnist Michael Goodwin discusses the recent crisis involving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAVA) and the response from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security director Markwayne Mullin. Goodwin praises the officials for their honesty about not knowing the full extent of the problem and the cause of widespread flight delays and cancellations, which affected tens of thousands of travelers. Despite the lack of concrete information, the officials admitted they could not provide definitive answers, focusing instead on the importance of transparency during such crises.
Written by AI on 2026-11-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).
See how they differ ↓

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 13, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop on all departing flights "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." The FAA did not provide additional details, only stating that inbound international flights would be managed on a case-by-case basis. This order led to the cancellation of thousands of flights across the United States, disrupting travel for many travelers. By November 15, 2026, the FAA head announced that air travel disruptions would continue until late Sunday as the aviation system gradually recovered from the shutdown. Officials attributed the incident to a routine maintenance issue that went awry.

Written for “FAA Ground Stop Disruptions” on 2026-11-15, grounded in this article and the 220 other(s) covering the same event.

How they differ

33 outlets covered “FAA Ground Stop Disruptions”.

What each outlet says

One AI summary per outlet of its latest article on this story, written from that article alone and checked against it. Open the article for the outlet's own words.

New York PostThis outlet15 Nov

Columnist Michael Goodwin discusses the recent crisis involving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAVA) and the response from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security director Markwayne Mullin. Goodwin praises the officials for their honesty about not knowing the full extent of the problem and the cause of widespread flight delays and cancellations, which affected tens of thousands of travelers…

Michael Goodwin: Transportation Secretary Duffy’s call for more cash was off key. Money alone won’t fix the FAA. (this article)19 articles from New York Post on this story
CBS News15 Nov

The Trump administration responded quickly to a ground stop of all U.S. flights on a Friday afternoon, initiated by the FAA at 3:36 p.m. ET, which led to 9,159 cancellations and 7,190 delays. Within minutes, multiple federal agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, were involved in assessing the situation, and President Trump was briefed soon after. The issue was later traced to maintenance…

How Trump administration responded to FAA ground stop →24 articles from CBS News on this story
Toronto Star14 Nov

The Federal Aviation Administration's decision to ground all flights nationwide for several hours on Friday severely disrupted travel plans for professional and college sports teams. This led to delays in kickoff times for multiple college football games, such as Utah’s game at Arizona and Arizona State’s game at Central Florida, which were both delayed by three hours. Some teams, like Auburn, used charter buses to…

US sports scramble back to normal after FAA ground stop upends team travel →15 articles from Toronto Star on this story
The Straits Times15 Nov

A student pilot encountered unexpected difficulties during his first solo cross-country flight on November 13 when an air traffic controller instructed him to land due to a nationwide ground stop caused by a communications network failure at the FAA. The shutdown affected about 4,000 aircraft in the air at the time, though all landed safely despite limited radar and communication capabilities. The incident…

‘I don’t know what to do’: Student pilot on first solo flight caught in US shutdown →14 articles from The Straits Times on this story
Just the News15 Nov

L3Harris, an FAA contractor, responded to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s suggestion that their error could have contributed to a nationwide ground stop on Friday. The company stated that it is working closely with the FAA and telecommunications partners to modernize the airspace communications infrastructure, completing more than 70% of the conversion from copper wires to fiber optics. L3Harris emphasized its…

FAA contractor responds to Duffy suggesting their error contributed to ground stop →13 articles from Just the News on this story
Washington Examiner15 Nov

A nationwide ground stop ordered by the FAA led to thousands of flight cancellations on Friday and Saturday, drawing criticism from several Democratic lawmakers who blamed the Trump administration. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, however, stated on Saturday that the issue was caused by an equipment malfunction due to outdated technology.

Nationwide ground stop spills into partisan politics →11 articles from Washington Examiner on this story
Show 27 more outlets
Daily Mail15 Nov

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed L3Harris for a recent incident that disrupted 20,000 flights due to a router overload at a Federal Aviation Administration site. Duffy said investigators are determining if the issue stemmed from operator error or a faulty router installed by L3Harris. The article highlights L3Harris's history of controversies, including export-control violations and allegations of…

The Trump administration blames L3Harris for crippling US airspace... as company's VERY checkered history comes to light →11 articles from Daily Mail on this story
Al Jazeera15 Nov

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop of flights in the United States on Friday, causing over 5,000 flights to be cancelled on Saturday and nearly 9,000 on Friday. This disruption occurred due to a routine upgrade of outdated copper wire with fiber optic lines, which inadvertently overburdened the air traffic control system's routers. The upgrade was performed by contractor…

What forced the US to ground all planes? A router switch, we now know →10 articles from Al Jazeera on this story
Dawn15 Nov

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Bryan Bedford, stated that US air travel disruptions would persist until late Sunday, following a nationwide flight shutdown on Friday caused by issues with air traffic communications. As of Saturday evening, more than 6,400 flights were cancelled and over 8,000 delayed, according to FlightAware. The FAA traced the problem to routine maintenance performed by…

US air travel disruptions to persist until late on Sunday, aviation body head says →10 articles from Dawn on this story
NBC News14 Nov

A Federal Aviation Administration ground stop on Friday disrupted travel plans for several sports teams, most notably in college football where multiple games were rescheduled or delayed. The NFL, however, was largely unaffected as all road teams were scheduled to travel on Saturday. To mitigate the impact on officiating, the NFL reassigned some backup referees to games within driving distance of their hometowns.

FAA ground stop throws college football into chaos, while the NFL is safe →9 articles from NBC News on this story
The Guardian15 Nov

NFL referee Don Willard will officiate two games on Sunday after the FAA grounded all flights, forcing travel adjustments. Willard will first work the Miami Dolphins' game against the Indianapolis Colts at 1pm ET, then travel 112 miles to officiate the Pittsburgh Steelers' Sunday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The disruption also affected other leagues, with the NBA making changes to its…

NFL referee faces 112-mile dash on double-duty Sunday after FAA ground stop →9 articles from The Guardian on this story
NPR15 Nov

The Federal Aviation Administration's ground stop on Friday caused widespread disruptions, including delays and cancellations for college football teams traveling to games. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged the impact on the college football schedule, noting that some games were delayed or rescheduled. For example, the Utah vs. Arizona game started three hours later than planned, and the Auburn vs…

FAA ground stop disrupts college football →8 articles from NPR on this story
Fox News15 Nov

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that air travel should return to normal by Sunday after a nationwide ground stop due to issues with air traffic control system upgrades. The ground stop, the longest in 25 years, was initiated when contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc. was updating wiring, leading to a system overload and causing delays for approximately 15,000 flights over Friday and Saturday…

FAA says air travel should be back to normal Sunday after nationwide ground stop →8 articles from Fox News on this story
Sydney Morning Herald14 Nov

Over 5000 US flights were canceled due to a nationwide ground stop. The Trump administration has hinted that a contractor might be responsible for the disruption, but the article does not provide further details or specific numbers regarding the contractor's involvement.

More than 5000 US flights grounded following nationwide stoppage →7 articles from Sydney Morning Herald on this story
Times of India15 Nov

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed outdated technology for causing widespread flight cancellations and delays across the country, affecting about a quarter of the 45,000 daily flights. More than 2,500 flights were cancelled on Saturday alone, and hundreds more were delayed. Duffy suggested that Congress's failure to fund new technology upgrades contributed to the issue, and warned of potential future…

US transport secy blames expired tech for flight chaos →7 articles from Times of India on this story
ABC News (AU)14 Nov

A nationwide grounding of US flights lasting about five hours on Friday caused nearly 10,000 cancellations and delays, affecting major airlines like Delta, American, and United. With nearly 29 million passengers expected to fly during the Thanksgiving period from November 20 to 30, airlines are struggling to recover, potentially causing continued disruptions for several days. The Federal Aviation Administration’s…

US travellers face more flight disruptions ahead of holiday period →5 articles from ABC News (AU) on this story
Evening Standard14 Nov

This informational guide explains passenger rights regarding flight delays and cancellations following a four-hour nationwide FAA ground stop in the United States that cancelled approximately 10,000 flights. The text details specific compensation thresholds, such as a refund option for delays exceeding five hours and tiered payouts ranging from £220 to £520 depending on distance and duration. It clarifies that while…

What to do if your flight is cancelled? Rights explained amid US ground stop chaos →5 articles from Evening Standard on this story
The Hindu15 Nov

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced on November 14, 2026, that U.S. air travel should recover from a four-hour nationwide ground stop by the end of November 15. The ground stop, the longest in 25 years, affected about 25% of the 45,000 daily flights, causing widespread delays and cancellations. The incident was caused by new technology overloading antiquated equipment in the air traffic control system. While…

U.S. air travel should recover from ground stop by end of November 15, FAA says →4 articles from The Hindu on this story
The Independent14 Nov

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide grounding of all flights, causing major disruptions to travel plans for various sports teams across the United States. This affected upcoming college football games, with matches like Utah's against Arizona and Arizona State’s against Central Florida being delayed by several hours. Professional sports were impacted too, with NBA team Cleveland…

FAA ground stop: Sport stars scramble as flight chaos and major travel disruption hits America →4 articles from The Independent on this story
ABC News (US)14 Nov

A travel expert advises passengers on how to manage disruptions following a telecommunications issue in the FAA’s air traffic control system that led to over 14,000 flight cancellations on Friday and Saturday. Brett Snyder, president of Cranky Concierge, recommends that travelers consider rebooking or canceling delayed trips, especially for short and less critical journeys, and suggests staying updated through…

How travelers can navigate trips as ground stop effects linger, expert says →3 articles from ABC News (US) on this story
The Daily Wire14 Nov

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford ruled out a cyberattack or AI-related causes for the nationwide ground stop on Friday, which affected over a million travelers. Bedford apologized for the disruptions and defended the decision to ground flights as a precaution. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested that routine maintenance work by contractor L3Harris, which involves switching telecommunication lines from old…

FAA Rules Out Cyberattack As Ground Stop Wreaks Havoc Nationwide →3 articles from The Daily Wire on this story
CBC14 Nov

Air Canada cancelled about 250 flights on Friday due to a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-ordered ground stop, affecting roughly 27,000 passengers. British Columbian flyers stranded in Cancun, Mexico, spent between $2,000 and $3,000 on alternative travel arrangements after their flights were cancelled, citing poor communication and lack of rebooking assistance from Air Canada. The FAA's ground stop was a…

Stranded B.C. flyers out thousands amid flight cancellations due to FAA-ordered ground stop →3 articles from CBC on this story
Daily Caller14 Nov

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a press conference to urge Congress to allocate $50 billion for upgrading the U.S. air traffic control system, citing a recent critical outage that halted all departing flights. Duffy attributes the outage to a contractor's switch from copper to fiber wires and emphasizes that his department has already made significant improvements with $12.5 billion, including replacing 69%…

Duffy Floats $50 Billion Price Tag For Congress To Prevent Repeat Paralysis Of US Air Travel →3 articles from Daily Caller on this story
BBC14 Nov

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced that a nationwide flight suspension in the US, causing over 3,500 cancellations, was triggered by a copper wire upgrade gone wrong. The incident, caused by a contractor's work on a router, led to communication issues with planes, prompting the FAA to halt all flights for over four hours. An investigation is ongoing to determine if the issue was due to incompetence or faulty…

Copper wire upgrade caused nationwide flight suspension, US transport secretary says →3 articles from BBC on this story
Global News14 Nov

The Federal Aviation Administration announced that the U.S. air travel schedule will likely recover by Sunday after a nationwide ground stop that ended Friday night. Approximately 4,000 flights were canceled on Friday, and while 41,000 flights were scheduled for Saturday, between 4,000 and 5,000 are expected to be canceled. Air Canada alone canceled around 250 flights, affecting about 27,000 customers. Passengers…

Air travel schedule should recover by Sunday, FAA says →2 articles from Global News on this story
Toronto Sun14 Nov

Flight disruptions continued at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Saturday, despite the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifting a ground stop the previous evening. While some travelers reported smooth departures, several U.S.-bound flights from Pearson were delayed or canceled, including trips to Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Meanwhile, delays persisted for flights from the U.S. to Canada, with…

Flight disruptions persist at Pearson for incoming and outgoing U.S. bound traffic →2 articles from Toronto Sun on this story
Los Angeles Times14 Nov

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating the cause of a major air traffic control system failure that led to flight delays and cancellations across the country. The incident began when a contractor, L3Harris Technologies, was performing routine maintenance on outdated telecommunication equipment, causing an overload in the system’s routers. FAA Administrator Brian Bedford acknowledged the crisis and…

Airport nightmares continue as FAA struggles to pinpoint blame for historic meltdown →2 articles from Los Angeles Times on this story
The Globe and Mail14 Nov

The United States halted all civilian flights on Friday night due to a failure in its air traffic control system, causing Canadian airlines to cancel 720 flights and face potential millions of dollars in costs. Operations are expected to take until Tuesday to normalize, with at least 260 Canadian flights cancelled over the weekend. Aviation expert John Gradek notes that airlines are dealing with significant expenses…

Latest travel disruption could cost Canadian airlines millions, expert says →2 articles from The Globe and Mail on this story
The Blaze13 Nov

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop on all departing flights from U.S. airports on Friday afternoon due to a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the stoppage was prompted by "extraordinary circumstances" and "reasons of safety" while technicians investigate the technical failure. The report frames this…

Nationwide GROUND STOP on all departing planes, says FAA →
Semafor13 Nov

The FAA issued a rare nationwide ground stop on Friday for all domestic flights due to a major outage in its air communications system. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin characterized the event as a telecommunication outage rather than a cyber or terrorist attack, though the duration of the order remains unspecified. This marks only the third time in history the agency has halted all flights, following…

FAA issues rare nationwide ground stop →
Euronews14 Nov

The FAA lifted a nationwide ground stop on Saturday morning following a "telecommunications outage" that halted all flights across the country on Friday. FlightAware reported over 8,860 cancellations on Friday and an additional 2,650 cancellations on Saturday, while US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the massive disruption to an "incredibly old" air traffic control system. This report highlights that…

Passengers continue to face delays and cancellations after US lifts nationwide ground stop →
Time14 Nov

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed a nationwide ground stop on Friday to the installation of new fiber optic lines which disrupted critical communications at an FAA facility, resulting in about 7,500 flight delays and over 9,000 cancellations. Duffy called for $50 billion in funding to modernize air traffic control and airport infrastructure, highlighting issues with outdated equipment, staffing…

Air Traffic Control Systems Are Outdated. What’s Being Done to Prevent Another Outage? →
The Bulwark15 Nov

Will Saletan critiques the Trump administration's handling of a nationwide air traffic control crisis that led to thousands of flight cancellations. Saletan argues that despite Trump's promise to overhaul the system, administration officials are deflecting blame onto Congress, Democrats, and previous administrations. This finger-pointing, according to Saletan, highlights the administration's failure to address the…

Trump’s Air Traffic Control Mess Is a Republican Failure →

Where they agree and split

Agreed

AI · cited, from two or more outlets

  • The ground stop was due to a communication issue affecting all air traffic control centers.13
Quoted from the coverage (4)

"You will continue to see some delays and cancellations as carriers reschedule flights and reposition aircraft/crews where they are needed most," Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a post on X this weekend.

7 outlets

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told the news conference said they had seen "zero evidence" it was a cyber-attack.

6 outlets

The FAA has already replaced thousands of old copper wires with fiber optic lines and upgraded hundreds of radio systems as part of the overhaul that began last year after Congress approved $12.5 billion of funding.

6 outlets

Though the five-hour ground stop was lifted shortly before 8.30pm ET on Friday, its effects will continue to be felt over the weekend, with travelers forced to sleep at airports and plans totally upended.

6 outlets

Disputed

Picked by our model, which is sometimes wrong

  • The Daily Mail called the disruption a 'national emergency,' while the BBC did not use this term.21
  • The Daily Mail reported that 1.5 million passengers were stranded, while the BBC did not provide this specific number.21

Framing

How the first headlines put it

  • The Daily Mail framed the event as the worst aviation crisis since 9/11, while the BBC provided a more neutral description.21
  • Just the News emphasized the antiquated air traffic control system, while Fox News focused on travel issues for passengers.34
Attributed to a source3
Stated as fact26
The headlines (29)

Nationwide ground stop ordered at airports: FAA ABC News · attributed to a source

Flights grounded across U.S. due to outage affecting air traffic control, FAA says CBC · attributed to a source

Nationwide GROUND STOP on all departing planes, says FAA The Blaze · attributed to a source

FAA imposes nationwide ground stop on all flights Washington Examiner · stated as fact

FAA issues national ground stop due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’ Global News · stated as fact

FAA issues nationwide ground stop on all departing flights Just the News · stated as fact

FAA Orders Nationwide Ground Stop At All U.S. Airports The Daily Wire · stated as fact

Ground stop ordered for all airports nationwide for ‘reasons of safety’ NBC News · stated as fact

Breaking: US aviation administration orders grounding of all flights ABC News (Australia) · stated as fact

All planes halted across US as FAA issues extremely rare nationwide ground stop over ‘extraordinary circumstances’ New York Post · stated as fact

FAA issues nationwide ground stop CBS News · stated as fact

US grounds all departing flights due to ‘extraordinary circumstance, safety reasons’ Sydney Morning Herald · stated as fact

Flights halted across U.S. as FAA cites ‘reasons of safety’ Toronto Star · stated as fact

LIVE: FAA issues nationwide ground stop after communications outage in US Al Jazeera · stated as fact

FAA issues nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports NPR · stated as fact

FAA Issues Nationwide Ground Stop, Halting All US Flight Departures Daily Caller · stated as fact

US FAA grounds all departing flights due to extraordinary circumstance, safety reasons The Straits Times · stated as fact

FAA issues nationwide ground-stop order, delaying or canceling nearly 7,000 flights The Guardian · stated as fact

All U.S. flight departures grounded due to communications problems Toronto Sun · stated as fact

FAA ground stop leaves College Football teams stranded on eve of crucial Saturday showdowns Fox News · stated as fact

FAA issues rare nationwide ground stop Semafor · stated as fact

New AI traffic control system is 'being looked at' as possible cause of airport ground stop: Live updates Daily Mail · stated as fact

All departing U.S. flights grounded due to communication outage The Hindu · stated as fact

US flight disruption: Air India flags possible delays to US-bound services Times of India · stated as fact

'We'll get home one day' - US travellers impacted by nationwide ground stop BBC · stated as fact

US grounds all flights for hours, sparking travel chaos Dawn · stated as fact

Passengers continue to face delays and cancellations after US lifts nationwide ground stop Euronews · stated as fact

All the London Heathrow and Gatwick flights cancelled amid US air traffic shutdown chaos Evening Standard · stated as fact

US ground stop live updates: Passengers stranded and thousands of flights delayed as FAA order lifted The Independent · stated as fact

Words to watch (5)

Chaos at US airports as flight stoppage grinds travel plans to a halt The Guardian

Traffic chaos chokes LAX runways as FAA issues nationwide ground stop over ‘extraordinary circumstances’ New York Post

A sudden FAA ground stop strands teams and throws the sports weekend into chaos Toronto Star

President Trump is silent on nationwide ground stop crisis... as he clears his weekend schedule and brags about his plan to 'save Hollywood' instead Daily Mail

Airport nightmares continue as FAA struggles to pinpoint blame for historic meltdown Los Angeles Times

The full story: what happened, how it changed, and all 221 articles →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 9% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Times of India
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 59/100
“Article A describes the demand for funding following a communications failure, while Article B critiques the approach to solving the air traffic control issues.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 0 of 1 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article A describes a press conference about a ground stop, while Article B is a commentary on the aftermath and implications of the same incident, indicating a different specific occurrence in time.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A focuses on Pete Buttigieg's criticism during a nationwide ground stop, while Article B discusses federal officials' responses to reassure the public, not specifically about Buttigieg's involvement or criticism.”
NBC News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 77/100
“Article A reports on Secretary Duffy's detailed timeline of the FAA ground stop, while Article B is a commentary on Duffy's call for more funding and includes a reflection on crisis management advice, not directly reporting the same incident.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 67/100
“While both articles refer to the FAA outage and calls for funding, Article A focuses on the broader advice for crisis management and mentions the grounding of aircraft, whereas Article B specifically describes the press conference where Duffy and Mullin requested $50 billion from Congress.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A reports on the Trump administration's request for US$50 billion for air traffic control funding after a nationwide ground stop, while Article B comments on Transportation Secretary Duffy's call for more funding but focuses more on the aftermath and criticism of the proposal.”
Daily Mail
Leans left Hedges 2 of 35 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss the FAA system malfunction that led to a ground stop, Article A focuses on the awkward press conference between officials, while Article B critiques the approach to addressing the crisis.”
The Bulwark
Leans strongly left Hedges 0 of 5 claims
Fox News
Hedges 1 of 35 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles discuss the aftermath of a significant FAA outage, but they are written from different perspectives and are not describing the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 36 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles refer to the same general event (flight chaos and grounding of aircraft), but they are written by different authors and published on different dates, indicating they are reporting on the same situation from different perspectives and times.”

Story

FAA Ground Stop Disruptions
Other · 221 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
43
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
4 of 43 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
221
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 20126 article(s) · 40 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 40 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Michael Goodwin
15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
Instead, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security director Markwayne Mullin confessed they couldn’t say with full confidence what was happening nor could they predict when the crisis would end.
He said his team would not work with Miller, whom he labeled a “stone cold racist.”
Thinking he would pump up their turnout, Trump told Republican voters to pretend his name was on the ballot.
For decades, an evergreen media storyline has been that the next election will resolve the civil war between the center and far-left factions of the Democratic Party.
And now comes more, thanks to Gov. Hochul’s decision to pull back the covers on her views of Mayor Mamdani and Israel.
By ignoring the fact that Jews were indigenous throughout the Middle East for thousands of years before the state of Israel was created by the United Nations partition in 1947, Obama comes off as willfully ignorant.
As noisy elements of Mayor Mamdani’s socialist rabble accuse him of insufficiently hating the police and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and of being a “sell out” and “traitor” to Palestinians, the mayor suddenly finds himself in a very strange position.
When he took the oath of office last January, Mayor Mamdani pledged that his administration would serve everyone in Gotham, without fear or favor.
Not so long ago, calling them antisemites would have been a sufficiently complete description of their sickness.
With polls and betting markets predicting Dems will win majorities in both the House and Senate, the president’s final two years in office will be the stuff of nightmares unless he can engineer a stunning comeback.
Also by Michael Goodwin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 15 articles by Michael Goodwin →

Topics

Americans Homeland Security Transportation

Subjects

Duffy PERSON · 3× Mullin PERSON · 3× Americans NORP · 2× Homeland Security ORG · 1× Howard PERSON · 1× Howard Rubenstein PERSON · 1× L3Harris ORG · 1× Markwayne Mullin PERSON · 1× Sean Duffy PERSON · 1× Transportation ORG · 1×

Narrative

This time, Duffy appeared more calm and confident as he advanced possible causes, saying investigators were looking into whether a contractor’s error or faulty equipment had set off the cascade of disaster. “What we’re working to determine was whether we had incompetence — meaning, was it user error or installation error,” he said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-15
Instead, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security director Markwayne Mullin confessed they couldn’t say with full confidence what was happening nor could they predict when the crisis would end.

Claims (43 extracted, 4 hedged)

The late Howard Rubenstein was the best public relations executive I have ever known. asserted
I → know → ?
His foundational advice to his corporate and political clients facing a crisis was captured on a small plaque in his office. asserted
advice → face → office
It read: “If you always tell the truth, you don’t have to remember what you said.” asserted
you → read → what
The first time I saw it, I laughed out loud and, with a smile, he nodded and said, yes, that’s what I’ve learned and what I believe. asserted
I → see → what
Howard and his wisdom came to mind in recent days as I watched federal officials try to reassure the nation after the grounding of aircraft stranded tens of thousands of Americans at airports and disrupted the travel plans of millions. asserted
grounding → come → millions
The problem for officials, especially on Friday when late afternoon delays started without warning and quickly cascaded, was that they didn’t know what was happening and why. asserted
what → start → warning
Still, they had to appear in public to at least try to calm the contagious outrage and anxiety. asserted
they → have → outrage
The only good news is that they didn’t hit the panic button and try to convey a sense of certainty they didn’t have. asserted
they → hit → certainty
Instead, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security director Markwayne Mullin confessed they couldn’t say with full confidence what was happening nor could they predict when the crisis would end. uncertain
crisis → confess → confidence
The truth was far from comforting, but they nonetheless did the right thing by admitting the limits of what they knew. asserted
they → comfort → what
Had they exaggerated their knowledge to project a certainty they didn’t have, they would have made a bad situation worse and jeopardized their jobs and reputations. asserted
situation → exaggerate → jobs
‘Zero evidence’ Duffy, who appeared a bit rattled Friday night, said the disaster likely was caused by the failure of “old hardware that went down” and affected air traffic controllers at regional hubs across the country. asserted
that → appear → country
Mullin appeared calmer, but he also was restrained, especially in response to a media question about whether there had been a cyber attack. asserted
he → appear → question
If he could have flatly denied it, he surely would have. uncertain
he → deny → it
Instead, Mullin chose his words carefully by saying only that there was “zero evidence” of such an attack. asserted
Mullin → choose → attack
Although their answers were frustrating given the scope of the problem, both men chose the right course by refusing to project false confidence. asserted
men → give → confidence
In fact, their uncertainty demonstrated why the lure of pretending to have complete conviction in a crisis often proves irresistible to public officials. asserted
lure → demonstrate → officials
Especially for the millions of Americans trapped in airport hell without explanations or promises about when they could get to their destinations, the truth could not have been very comforting. uncertain
truth → trap → destinations
Ditto for the millions of others who had travel plans for the rest of the weekend and were left unsure about what to do next. asserted
who → have → what
But the truth was important because the government did not know what had happened to the computerized network and officials were wise to say so. asserted
officials → know → network
The situation remained dicey Saturday, with as many as 4,000 more flights delayed or canceled. asserted
flights → remain → ?
In some cases, the aircraft were not in the right locations or flight crews had “timed out” during the delays. asserted
crews → time → delays
The best news federal officials had on the second day was that they hoped that normal operations would be in place later Sunday. asserted
operations → have → place
This time, Duffy appeared more calm and confident as he advanced possible causes, saying investigators were looking into whether a contractor’s error or faulty equipment had set off the cascade of disaster. “What we’re working to determine was whether we had incompetence — meaning, was it user error or installation error,” he said. asserted
he → appear → incompetence
Duffy added that the work of switching from old copper wires to fiber optic cable had caused a router to overload the system. asserted
router → add → system
He confessed it remained unknown if the flaw was with the equipment itself or with a contractor doing the work, L3Harris. asserted
flaw → confess → work
Again, that wasn’t the most hopeful statement, but he still was being extra careful not to go beyond what he could say with full confidence. uncertain
he → go → confidence
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford also stuck to a narrow script by echoing Mullin’s Friday cautionary statement about a cyber attack. asserted
Bedford → stick → attack
Bedford said investigators still “don’t believe” any attack or foreign interference caused the incident. asserted
attack → say → incident
And he said there was “zero evidence” that anything AI-related caused the meltdown, although he didn’t completely rule out the possibility. asserted
he → say → possibility
The most troubling consistency of both the press conferences on Friday and Saturday was the officials’ eagerness to blame Congress for not budgeting enough money to speed the modernization of the FAA’s communication network. asserted
consistency → blame → network
Duffy said the work should have been done years earlier, and renewed his appeal for Congress to appropriate a staggering $50 billion in new funding for emergency overhauls. asserted
Congress → say → overhauls
Coming in the midst of the mysterious shutdown, the not-enough-money argument struck me as being predictable and off key. asserted
argument → come → me
Especially when it comes from Duffy, the demand for another mountain of money is disappointing. asserted
demand → come → money
He was elected to Congress in the 2010 Tea Party anti-tax wave, and was a reliable fiscal hawk until he resigned in 2019. asserted
he → elect → 2019
Moreover, if you were stuck at an airport or were unsure about planning to fly in coming days and weeks, watching the person in charge demanding billions more of taxpayer dollars was hardly comforting or convincing. asserted
person → stick → dollars
Even if Congress wrote the check tomorrow, the work would take years. asserted
work → write → years
So the cavalry is not coming soon. asserted
cavalry → come → ?
Such pleas always sound like everything would be fine if only America spent more. asserted
America → sound → more
We just had a hard-fought national election that saw Democrats seize control of both the House and Senate, and I don’t recall a single accusation by a challenger that incumbents had not spent nearly enough money to upgrade airports or that Duffy was unfit. asserted
Duffy → have → airports
…and 3 more, not listed.
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