Trump Cabinet Secretary Fires Shot at Pete Hegseth on Fox News: ‘DOD Has Promised Radical Transparency’
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the Pentagon on Fox News Monday after a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter caused two commercial flights to be diverted near Washington’s Reagan National Airport last week.
According to the FAA and NTSB, air traffic control ordered a Delta Airbus A319 and a Republic Airways Embraer E170 to execute “go-arounds” around 2:30 p.m. after the helicopter, inbound to the Pentagon heliport, was instructed to circle the building before landing. The FAA characterized the Black Hawk as a priority air transport aircraft.
The incident comes just three months after a midair collision between a Black Hawk and passenger jet killed 67 people near the airport.
Appearing on The Ingraham Angle, Duffy shared his frustration at Pentagon personnel using helicopters to transport themselves between locations, disrupting flights and D.C. airspace.
“The question becomes, who are the VIPs? Who are they?” Duffy asked. “The top brass at the White House – they take a Suburban, or a Tesla, or they take their own car. Who do these generals think they are, that they have to take helicopters to go to meetings?”
“Who was it?” host Laura Ingraham pressed.
“I don’t know who it was,” Duffy replied.
“Who do we ask?” the host said. “I mean you’re the transportation secretary, how do you not know?”
“The FAA doesn’t know, we asked the DOD,” Duffy said.
Then, in a pointed swipe at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s promise of Pentagon “transparency,” he remarked: “The DOD has promised radical transparency, 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.”
“Can we call Pete Hegseth?” Ingraham teased.
“I should actually,” Duffy replied.
“Let’s call him right now,” Ingraham said, lifting her mobile phone.
“You call Pete. Dial in!” the transport secretary squirmed. “She actually has a phone right by her desk!”
He quickly added: “But those are the answers we need, again, when we have near misses, you have to stop traffic. And listen to the president, the vice president, Pete Hegseth, they all should fly in helicopters but a two star [general]? I mean, come on. Again, it’s suspect when they won’t tell you who the VIP is.”
Watch above via Fox News.
