Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is being roasted by Twitter after flights were delayed nationwide.
On Wednesday, thousands of flights were delayed or cancelled across the United States after an outage in a government system.
The Associated Press noted the NOTAM system stopped working late on Tuesday and resulted in more than 1,000 flight cancellations and more than 6,000 delays by 11 a.m. Wednesday, citing flight tracking website FlightAware.
Twitter users were quick to question Buttigieg’s leadership amid the delays and cancellations.
Conservative commentator Michael Knowles tweeted, “The FAA has apparently made grounded all domestic flights because the computers broke. Keep up the great work, [Pete Buttigieg].”
The FAA has apparently grounded all domestic flights because the computers broke. Keep up the great work, @PeteButtigieg!
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) January 11, 2023
Another user pointed out when Buttigieg was “Mayor of South Bend, Dominos had to fill South Bend’s potholes due to Mayor Pete’s incompetence. How was Pete Buttigieg qualified to be Transportation Secretary in the first place? After today’s FAA computer failure, Joe Biden has some explaining to do.”
When Pete Buttigieg was Mayor of South Bend, Dominos had to fill South Bend’s potholes due to Mayor Pete’s incompetence. How was Pete Buttigieg qualified to be Transportation Secretary in the first place? After today's FAA computer failure, Joe Biden has some explaining to do. pic.twitter.com/3OEyEremcH
— Charles R Downs (@TheCharlesDowns) January 11, 2023
Former federal prosecutor Will Scharf simply wrote, “Pete Buttigieg is really bad at transportation.”
Pete Buttigieg is really bad at transportation.
— Will Scharf (@willscharf) January 11, 2023
One tweet suggested Buttigieg is a “bigger disaster than the Covid vaccine.”
Pete Buttigieg is a bigger disaster than the Covid vaccine 👇 pic.twitter.com/MGQNmpAk59
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) January 11, 2023
Check out more tweets below:
Pete Buttigieg has failed every major test as Secretary of Transportation, from the supply chain crisis to The FAA system failure. He was grossly unprepared for the role, as he flunked at being a small town mayor.
— Garrett Ventry (@GarrettVentry) January 11, 2023
🚨 ✈️ How is this happening in America? Congress must immediately investigate and hold @PeteButtigieg accountable! @RepSamGraves https://t.co/r13Hrs0Nlu
— Sergio Gor (@SergioGor) January 11, 2023
All flights in America are grounded because of an FAA computer error.
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) January 11, 2023
Is Pete Buttigieg on vacation again?
Hey @PeteButtigieg … planes, trains, and automobiles was a MOVIE, not a how-to for your job.
— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) January 11, 2023
We got serious problems with transportation. Maybe spend less time lecturing and shaming Americans about fossil fuels and more time FIXING the damn problems.
Pete Buttigieg couldn't organize a one-car funeral.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) January 11, 2023
He was never remotely qualified for this role.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted that President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation Wednesday morning.
“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,” Jean-Pierre tweeted.
The 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.
— Karine Jean-Pierre Archived (@PressSec46) January 11, 2023
CNN noted the Federal Aviation Administration is currently without a permanent leader.
Biden’s nominee to lead the agency, Phillip Washington, has not yet received a confirmation hearing.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued a statement, calling for reforms to be made to the agency.
“The flying public deserves safety in the sky. The FAA’s inability to keep an important safety system up and running is completely unacceptable and just the latest example of dysfunction within the Department of Transportation,” he said.
Cruz added, “The administration needs to explain to Congress what happened, and Congress should enact reforms in this year’s FAA reauthorization legislation. This incident also highlights why the public needs a competent, proven leader with substantive aviation experience leading the FAA.”
