As Trump’s FAA implemented a nationwide ground stop, Ari Emanuel is placing blame on the previous administration.
On Friday, the WME and TKO exec called out former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for making “zero progress modernizing the FAA” during his term, despite Donald Trump nominating Sean Duffy to the role in 2024.
“No one’s hands are clean here,” wrote Emanuel, whom Trump considers a close friend, on X. “However, Mr. Secretary Buttigieg, you had four years in the job and infrastructure money, yet made zero progress modernizing the FAA. You left a failing system in place. THANKS!”
Earlier on Friday, the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop due to “extraordinary circumstances” and “reasons of safety” as Duffy cited “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue.”
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As of 5:15pm PT, the FAA lifted the stop that grounded more than 3,500 flights, with Duffy explaining the root cause of the crisis was a radar “instability” issue that led to the shutting down of domestic airspace.
The unprecedented stoppage comes as the FAA rolls out an AI air traffic tool after claiming to need fewer air traffic controllers than previously thought, cutting the workforce by 2,000. Previous FAA cuts in 2025 came weeks after a January mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport resulted in the deaths of all 67 aboard, amid a seven-year high in aviation fatalities.