WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats want Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to stop mass layoffs and firings at the Department of Transportation and are questioning Elon Musk’s role in the department’s downsizing strategy.
Duffy at his nomination hearing on Jan. 15. Credit: U.S. Senate
DOT’s roughly 57,000 employees have been among those affected by the sweeping federal workforce reduction mandate initiated during the first weeks of the Trump administration.
“At the Department of Transportation, safety must come first, but that commitment appears in doubt as the Trump administration promotes cost-cutting over protecting the public,” wrote Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in a letter sent on Thursday to Duffy, co-signed by 12 of his Senate colleagues.
“We urge you to cease this dangerous approach to governing and request important information on how the [DOT] plans to prioritize safety in this environment.”