House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Saturday supported Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s demand for additional funding to upgrade air traffic control infrastructure after the Federal Aviation Administration implemented a ground stop for nearly five hours over a disruption in the aging systems.
Duffy held a press conference at the White House on Friday evening following the halt in flights and demanded Congress provide $50 billion to overhaul the nation’s decades-old air traffic control system, an additional $20 billion to his previous ask for upgrades.
Johnson appeared on Fox News’s Saturday in America and discussed the nationwide ground stop, claiming he is already working on an “aggressive legislative package,” but did not specify if that included funding for the Department of Transportation. He said Duffy and President Donald Trump have long been discussing the need for upgrades.
“I give a lot of credit to President Trump and Secretary Duffy,” Johnson said. “They’ve been sounding the alarms since the beginning of this Congress. I tried to echo those alarms.”
Congress already approved $12.5 billion for air traffic control modernization through Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but Duffy has since said the initial investment was insufficient. Trump previously requested $30 billion in funding for the modernization effort, though Duffy upped his ask Friday to $50 billion to complete the overhaul.
“That investment is being made, but we need a lot more,” Johnson said. “And this is a very important investment, obviously, for everyone. And as Duffy said, it should not be a partisan issue. But everything in Washington is these days, unfortunately.”
While Johnson’s days at the helm are numbered after Republicans lost their majority in the midterm elections, there are still about 20 legislative days left in the 119th Congress in which a funding request could be met.
The $12.5 billion in July 2025 was intended to begin overhauling the nation’s air traffic control system, funding the replacement of radar software, telecommunications equipment, and other infrastructure across more than 10,000 projects.
More than 60% of the nation’s legacy copper telecommunications lines have since been replaced with fiber-optic and wireless infrastructure, according to the government’s Modern Skies project tracker.
Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford are now pushing Congress to approve the Modern Skies Act, which is where the additional $30 billion funding request lies.
DUFFY IMPLORES CONGRESS TO STUMP UP $50 BILLION AFTER FAA OUTAGE: ‘GIVE US THE MONEY TO FIX IT’
The proposal includes $10 billion for replacing aging control towers and ground facilities, $10 billion for telecommunications upgrades and converting analog equipment to digital systems, and $10 billion for additional infrastructure and software improvements. Duffy’s increased demand would allow for a comprehensive overhaul rather than “patchwork fixes” being done now.
“This is an emergency,” Duffy said on Friday. “I want Congress to give us emergency funding”