Newly-appointed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confirmed the Federal Aviation Administration is keeping all safety-related positions in place. The news comes just weeks after President Trump ordered a federal hiring freeze and extended early buyout offers to almost all federal workers.
“So, in regard to the employment freeze, we had almost 1,200 positions that were critical safety positions that were exempted,” Duffy told CNN on Sunday. “Those included air traffic controllers. Actually, this last week, we had new air traffic controllers that were hired.”
As of last week, the agency had temporarily removed all postings from the USA Jobs website. 145 open positions have since been re-added as of Sunday, including several air traffic control openings.
“We also had postings online to bring in new air traffic controllers. So air traffic controllers were exempted from a hiring freeze, as well as other safety positions like inspectors. In regard to offers for people to take early retirement, for our department, actually, the critical positions in regard to safety are not offered that early retirement,” he continued.
“We’re going to keep all our safety positions in place.”@SecDuffy tells @jaketapper that air traffic controllers and “critical safety positions” are exempt from Trump’s hiring freeze and buyout offer for federal employees. pic.twitter.com/KQAEVmypNS
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) February 2, 2025
Nearly all federal employees were sent offers to resign by Feb. 6 or face potential termination. These were also sent to air traffic controllers and other safety-critical roles within the FAA, according to the AP.
“They can’t spin this away. The Trump administration contacted air traffic controllers, offering buyouts to leave their jobs. It’s a very easily proven fact,” former DOT secretary Pete Buttigieg said on X.
While some improvements have been made to staffing levels, the FAA remains between 3,000 and 4,000 controllers short of its targets.
“We’re going to keep all our safety positions in place, no early retirement. We’re all going to stay and work and make sure our skies are safe,” Duffy concluded.
