Trump Blames Biden Administration for FAA System Problems After Ground Stop

According to CNBC, President Donald Trump on Sunday made his first public comments on Friday’s nationwide Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground stop, blaming the Biden administration for worsening an “old and broken” air traffic control system and urging Congress to approve more funding to modernize it. The stop lasted more than four hours, disrupting flights nationwide and contributing to thousands of cancellations and delays that affected hundreds of thousands of passengers. Trump wrote on his social media platform, “The Biden Administration was an FAA disaster,” and said his administration had “the knowledge and plan for the Flight Control Systems” but needed Congress to provide funding “FAST!” Congress approved $12.5 billion for the FAA last year as part of a tax and spending package. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the aging air traffic control system needs more funding for a broader overhaul. The FAA said equipment became unstable after a high volume of data flooded its network; contractor work at one site may be related, and the underlying cause remains under investigation.