{"id":1804793,"date":"2023-01-13T09:50:48","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T14:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1804793"},"modified":"2023-01-13T09:54:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T14:54:04","slug":"buttigiegs-transportation-department-expands-vacation-amid-aviation-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/buttigiegs-transportation-department-expands-vacation-amid-aviation-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Buttigieg\u2019s Transportation Department Expands Vacation Amid Aviation Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbuttigiegs-transportation-department-expands-vacation-amid-aviation-crisis%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1804793&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<p>\u201cSecretary Pete\u201d It seems to be more focused on holiday leaves than on resolving issues with the Department of Transportation.<\/p>\n<p>Things aren\u2019t going to well for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/12\/12\/transportation-chief-buttigieg-uses-taxpayer-funded-private-jets-despite-call-to-curb-carbon-emissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pete Buttigieg<\/a> On a variety of fronts. As secretary of transportation, he also oversees the Federal Aviation Administration.<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday morning saw all outbound flights in the United States halted by the FAA. This was due to the Notification to Air Missions System not working. It provides vital information to flight operations personnel and caused a grounding for all U.S. outbound aircraft for the first time since September 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t appear that Buttigieg is focused on fixing the problem as quickly as possible.\u00a0 Around 10 a.m. Wednesday, amid the FAA crisis,\u00a0the assistant transportation secretary for administration, Philip A. McNamara, sent an email to all DOT employees, which The Heritage Foundation\u2019s Oversight Project obtained. <\/p>\n<p>He wrote: \u201cTo begin the upcoming holiday weekend, we have approved a three-hour early release on Friday, January 13 for all DOT federal employees in work status, including telework\/\u00a0 Employees designated as essential may be required by their supervisor to remain on duty.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"195\" src=\"https:\/\/first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com\/live_files\/2023\/01\/DOT-email-1024x195.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-961503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com\/live_files\/2023\/01\/DOT-email-1024x195.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com\/live_files\/2023\/01\/DOT-email-300x57.jpg 300w, https:\/\/first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com\/live_files\/2023\/01\/DOT-email-768x146.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/DOT-email-1536x292-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/DOT-email.jpg 1965w\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/figure>\n<p>In June, President Joe Biden appointed Phil Washington to the FAA Administrator position, but he was not confirmed by the Senate. Washington was also named in an aforementioned document. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/dia-ceo-nominee-criminal-search-warrant-4e7348c0-b809-451a-ad8a-4cc2d1366016.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Criminal search warrant<\/a> These are connected to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/dia-phillip-washington-corruption-allegations-e183c170-4d3c-41ff-a471-807989bd029a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Public corruption allegations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Washington was renominated last week for the position. He will be able, if confirmed, to hold the position for five year, unlike other political appointments that end with the presidential term. <\/p>\n<p>Billy Nolen is an FAA Associate Administrator and has been acting as the administrator for around eight months. Political appointee, Nolen joined the FAA in August 2008. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/11\/02\/fact-checking-5-biden-warnings-about-dangers-to-democracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biden administration<\/a> Nolen in his FAA role, January 2022. Nolen previously served as vice president, safety, security and quality, WestJet Airlines Canada. Unfortunately, scandals plagued the FAA&#8217;s acting tenure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On April 21, 2022, a few weeks into Nolen\u2019s acting role, the FAA forgot to notify the Secret Service, Park Police, and Capitol Police of a scheduled flyover and a parachute stunt into Nationals Park. The U.S. Army Golden Knights airplane flew by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/07\/22\/6-big-takeaways-as-house-panel-retraces-trumps-steps-during-capitol-riot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Capitol Complex<\/a>This prompted law enforcement to immediately evacuate the Capitol Complex and issue an alert.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On April 22, 2022 the FAA issued an unsigned apology, which stated, \u201cWe deeply regret that we contributed to a precautionary evacuation of the Capitol complex and apologize for the disruption and fear experienced by those who work there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buttigieg was criticized for using the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/12\/pete-buttigieg-flew-almost-20-times-on-taxpayer-funded-private-jets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FAA\u2019s private fleet<\/a> Most recently, the jets were used to conduct a radio interview in New York City. The Washington Post reported once that the FAA charged approximately $5,000 an hour for private jet use during Trump&#8217;s administration. The DOT attempted to assure the public about this too.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven that commercial air travel is usually the cheapest way for the Secretary and his staff to travel, 108 of the 126 flights for DOT trips he has taken have been on commercial airlines. However, there are some cases where it is more efficient and\/or less expensive for the Secretary and accompanying personnel to fly on a 9-seater FAA plane rather than commercial flights,\u201d A spokesperson said. \u201cUse of the FAA plane in limited, specific cases has helped to maximize efficiency and save thousands of taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The White House attempted explanations for Wednesday&#8217;s flight crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Karine Jean-Pierre (White House Press Secretary) posted the following tweet: \u201cThe President has been briefed by the Secretary of Transportation this morning on the FAA system outage. There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the president directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes. The FAA will provide regular updates. Since no cause has been determined, it appears that the DOT should be all hands on deck to determine the issue and ensure that this doesn\u2019t happen again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The President has been briefed by the Secretary of Transportation\u00a0this morning\u00a0on the FAA system outage. Although there is no evidence to suggest a cyberattack, the President ordered DOT to investigate the cause.\u00a0The FAA will keep you informed.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PressSec\/status\/1613153561289932800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>I sent McNamara several questions about this statement. These are the questions I sent McNamara.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>I have received an email from you today, announcing an early holiday release in support of MLK Day. Can you confirm?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is it a common practice for the DOT to release employees before a Federal holiday?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Do you think Secretary Buttigieg will prioritize Federal Holiday Leave for his employees regardless of the workload or emergency at DOT?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00a0He forwarded my questions on to the press office. They responded to my email.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmergency and essential personnel will be working as mentioned in the notice,\u201d A spokesperson said. <\/p>\n<p>McNamara was kind enough to give three hours of paid leave.\u00a0After some research, I discovered the following: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ziprecruiter.com\/Salaries\/Federal-Employee-Salary#:~:text=How%20much%20does%20a%20Federal,States%20is%20%24108%2C584%20a%20year.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">average salary<\/a> For a federal employee working in the United States, $108,584.00 annually. That&#8217;s $52.20 an hour if you consider that employees work 2,080 hours on average each year. This gift amounts to $8.613,634.62 considering there are 55,000 employees of DOT. How much tax dollars will this practice cost if it is a regular practice for federal holidays?<\/p>\n<p>The FAA\u2019s extra time off extended to federal employees working from home. Workers who don&#8217;t commute will get the same time off.<\/p>\n<p>Uncertainty remains about the number of emergency and essential personnel who will be on duty. Contrary to the DOT spokesperson\u2019s email to me, the initial announcement about the time off says the decision will be up to supervisors, not applied across the board. <\/p>\n<p>If the DOT focused more on solving issues and not on employee time off, maybe it wouldn\u2019t have so many crises.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Do you have a comment about this article? Send an email to let us know your opinion.\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:letters@DailySignal.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letters@DailySignal.com<\/a>\u00a0and we\u2019ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular \u201cWe Hear You\u201d feature. Be sure to include the article&#8217;s url, headline, and your name.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cSecretary Pete\u201d It seems to be more focused on holiday leaves than on resolving issues with the Department of Transportation. Things aren\u2019t going to well for Pete Buttigieg On a variety of fronts. As secretary of transportation, he also oversees the Federal Aviation Administration. Wednesday morning saw all outbound flights in the United States halted &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1804796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[14743,5458,5245,6170,4724,6064,3819,8068,3882],"class_list":["post-1804793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-aviation","tag-bongino","tag-buttigiegs","tag-crisis","tag-department","tag-expands","tag-report","tag-transportation","tag-vacation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1804793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1804793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1804793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1804796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1804793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1804793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1804793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}