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Sean Duffy details spat with Elon Musk over air traffic controllers: 'The Senate confirmed me'

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy detailed his spat with Elon Musk over firing air traffic controllers during an appearance on the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast on Wednesday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared on the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast on Wednesday where he opened up about an earlier spat between him and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk.

According to Duffy, the two had "a little back and forth" after Musk proposed the firing of "safety-critical positions," including air traffic controllers, which was a red line for the transportation secretary.

"I think it might not have been intentional, might have been ham-handed by some of the requests that were made by DOGE, but my position was, we are not going to fire air traffic controllers," Duffy told the Post's Miranda Devine. 

The secretary explained that the conversation took place before the tragic plane crash in Washington, D.C., that killed dozens in January, noting, "This was before DCA. Safety critical positions are not going to be fired within the Department of Transportation."

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Duffy told The Post’s Miranda Devine that he and Musk had a "little back-and-forth" after Musk allegedly proposed firing air traffic controllers, but the two "got along very well after that." (Screenshot/"Pod Force One"/YouTube)

On January 27, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with a regional jet at Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, killing 67 passengers. The collision brought heightened scrutiny to air travel safety, and more specifically, the state of the nation's air traffic control systems.

The transportation secretary clarified that while he gets "along well enough" with Musk, "Elon — or no one else — is the secretary. I am. The Senate confirmed me."

Duffy acknowledged that his department could "do things more efficiently," but insisted that firing air traffic controllers was not an option — a stance that apparently sparked the feud between him and the Tesla CEO.

"There is fat we can – that we can cut, but we are not going to fire controllers," he told Devine. "And so we had a little back and forth, [but] we got along very well after that. I think the papers made it a bigger deal than it was."

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Although Duffy praised Musk for being an "amazing innovator," he expressed relief that he didn't follow the Tesla CEO's lead on firing air traffic controllers. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The transportation chief praised Elon for being an "amazing innovator," but reiterated that he is the one in charge of driving the nation's transportation policy, expressing relief that he followed his instincts and refused to fire air traffic controllers.

"Elon is an amazing innovator. He’s creative. And again, there’s a lot to learn from him, but I run this department, and again, I didn’t want someone on the outside trying to tell me to fire people," he explained. "Had I done that, had I actually fired controllers, oh, my — think what the liberal media would do to me. I would be slaughtered. We didn’t, thank God, but [this] is why, throughout government, you have to make sure that the secretaries are the ones who are driving the policy."

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Elon Musk for comment but did not immediately receive a response.