WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy continues to insist to the American public that it’s perfectly safe to fly in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport, a stunning admission made on live radio is raising serious questions about whether even he believes that claim.

In an offhand comment on The David Webb Show on SiriusXM Monday, Duffy confessed that he had personally rerouted his wife’s flight out of Newark, booking her instead out of LaGuardia Airport—just one day after giving repeated public assurances about the airport’s safety.

“My wife was flying out of Newark tomorrow. I switched her flight to LaGuardia,” Duffy casually told Webb.

The moment might have slipped under the radar—if it weren’t for the sheer hypocrisy implied by the remark. Here is the nation’s top transportation official, charged with overseeing the safety of American airspace, quietly pulling his own family away from an airport he insists is totally safe for everyone else.

A Troubling Pattern at Newark

The controversy comes amid a wave of technical failures and staffing issues at Newark Liberty Airport that have rattled air traffic professionals and the public alike.

In the past two weeks alone:

On April 28, radar screens and radio communications at the Philadelphia facility responsible for Newark went dark for 30 seconds, prompting trauma leave for some air traffic controllers.

On May 9, screens went dark again for 90 seconds.

On May 11, an equipment failure halted operations for 45 minutes.

The New York Times later reported that on multiple shifts, only one to three air traffic controllers were overseeing Newark’s flight traffic—despite the standard being 14.

Yet even with these glaring vulnerabilities, Duffy doubled down on the narrative of safety in a Tuesday appearance on CNBC.

“It’s safe, and that’s because we have numerous redundancies in place at the FAA,” Duffy told anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin. “Even if you lose telecom, there are procedures in place. So it’s safe.”

Apparently, not safe enough for Mrs. Duffy.

Political Fallout

Critics across the political spectrum pounced on the contradiction. Democrats, in particular, were quick to highlight the discrepancy between Duffy’s public claims and private decisions.

“Trump’s transportation secretary won’t let his wife take a flight out of Newark because he knows it’s unsafe, but he thinks it’s okay for you and your family,” said Abhi Rahman, Deputy Communications Director for the Democratic National Committee. “What does Sean Duffy know that he’s not telling the American people?”

This episode is already being painted as emblematic of a broader problem within the Trump administration’s second term: performative competence for the cameras, while behind the scenes, key agencies are crumbling under budget cuts and mismanagement.

Indeed, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—led by tech mogul Elon Musk—has implemented sweeping job cuts across multiple federal departments, including the Federal Aviation Administration. While Duffy claims that only “non-critical” and probationary staff were let go, these statements remain unverified.

“Redundancies” or Just Lucky?

Duffy’s public talking points revolve around the FAA’s supposed built-in redundancies. But aviation experts are not convinced.

“Redundancies mean nothing if no one’s there to monitor them,” said a retired FAA official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “If you’re down to two controllers on a shift, you’re one absence away from disaster.”

Even some Republican insiders are quietly raising concerns. One Trump-aligned consultant told Gizmodo, “The optics are terrible. Either you believe it’s safe or you don’t. You can’t have it both ways.”

A Secretary in Hot Water

This isn’t the first time Duffy has walked into controversy.

The former congressman and Fox News contributor has often deflected blame for agency troubles, instead pointing fingers at what he calls “Biden-era bureaucracy.” But now that he’s in charge, the excuses are wearing thin.

He’s also made waves with odd statements—recently joking that “maybe the skies were safer when there were fewer rules.” Critics called the comment “reckless,” especially in light of the Newark situation.

Where Are the Answers?

When reached for comment about the decision to reroute his wife’s flight, the FAA referred all questions to the Department of Transportation, which has not yet responded.

The question remains: If the top transportation official in the United States doesn’t trust Newark enough for his own family, why should millions of other Americans?