Former FAA deputy administrator Dan Elwell pushed back hard this week after Democrat Rep. Katie Porter tried to turn the unfolding aviation crisis into a political talking point, calling her complaint unfounded and defending the men and women who keep our skies safe. Elwell’s credentials as a career aviator and former FAA leader give his words weight — he isn’t some partisan cable commentator but someone who spent years inside the agency. Americans who fly deserve straight talk, not performative finger-pointing from elected officials chasing headlines.
The chaos on the tarmac isn’t a mystery: an ongoing federal shutdown forced the FAA to order flight reductions and airlines to cancel service as unpaid air traffic controllers and other essential workers struggle under impossible circumstances. More than a thousand flights were grounded as the agency rolled out phased cuts to operations at major hubs, proving that government paralysis has real victims — hardworking families and small businesses. This isn’t an abstract policy debate; it’s a late-summer and pre-holiday travel nightmare that Washington manufactured by refusing to fund the country.
Anyone with a lick of sense knows the aviation system’s fragility didn’t begin yesterday; staffing shortfalls in air traffic control, safety inspection, and maintenance have been chronic and worsening for years, leaving the system brittle when a shutdown hits. Congress and the administration have all had opportunities to fix recruitment, retention, and modernization — and they have failed to act effectively, endangering commuters and commerce. We should be listening to experienced operators like Elwell about real solutions, not letting career politicians exploit crises for cheap political points.
Katie Porter’s instinct was predictably performative — accuse the agency, demand virtue signaling hearings, and post a viral clip — while the professionals on the floor of our airports keep planes flying under duress. Conservatives are right to call this out: accountability is owed to the public, but so is respect for the front-line workers who are being forced to make safety calls without pay. If Porter and her allies truly cared about travelers, they’d stop grandstanding and start demanding that Congress reopen the government and get controllers paid.
This moment should unite lawmakers around one simple priority: end the shutdown, replenish the ranks at the FAA, and modernize the system so Americans stop paying the price for Washington’s dysfunction. Don’t let a boutique Democrat soundbite drown out the sober warnings of experienced aviation leaders — Dan Elwell’s rebuke was a reminder that expertise matters, and that politics should not trump safety. If Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on that basic duty, then voters will remember who stood with the people who keep America moving and who chose politics over passengers.
