Mike Johnson Calls for 'Investment,' Not Probe, After FAA Ground Stop as Duffy's $50 Billion Ask Draws Fire From Greene

Johnson urges Congress to prioritize FAA technology upgrades as lawmakers question the cause and funding behind the flight disruption.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Saturday that Congress doesn’t need to investigate Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stop, but it does need to fund upgrades.

"We don’t really need any investigation … we need further investment," Johnson said on Fox News’ "Saturday in America." He noted that some equipment dates to the 1980s.

🚨SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON SAYS HOUSE IS WORKING ON FAA FUNDING AFTER NATIONWIDE GROUND STOP@SpeakerJohnson tells @KayleighMcEnany he’s in Washington this weekend working on legislation to modernize America’s air traffic control system.

"We’re going to work to get it done."⬇️… pic.twitter.com/V6Dms1cNqO
— Saturday in America (@SatAmericaFNC) November 14, 2026

Router Fault Under Review

Government officials said Saturday a single router installed by L3Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LHX) may have caused the outage, Reuters reported. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the cause remains undetermined.

Duffy said Friday the contractor was switching lines from copper wire to fiber.

In a statement, L3Harris said it has completed more than 70% of that conversion and is supporting the FAA’s investigation.

Duffy said the new routers flooded others with over 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds. The routers being replaced are about 25 years old, Duffy said, and were due for replacement in 2006.

Rare Stoppage Disrupts Air Travel

The FAA issued the ground stop around 4 p.m. EST Friday. Duffy said it was lifted around 8:15 p.m. The agency’s last widespread stoppage lasted about 90 minutes in January 2023.

As of 9:25 p.m. EST Saturday, FlightAware data showed 8,048 delays and 6,445 cancellations within, into or out of the U.S.

$50 Billion Funding Push

On Friday, Duffy called the system "incredibly old" and said, "I want $50 billion." Congress has already given the FAA $12.5 billion for upgrades.

In a Saturday post on X, Duffy called modernization a "national safety priority." He said Congress needs to step up with resources to build a "state-of-the-art system."

Greene And Torres Question Aviation Funding

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) criticized the $50 billion funding request.

In a long post on X on Saturday, she said she was "blown away" by people who "fell for the total garbage" at Friday’s press conference, and said officials lied about what happened.

She said the systems need updating and "it takes money," but that officials have "plenty of money."

I’m literally blown away by the amount of people that fell for the total garbage that they got fed at that press conference yesterday.

If you’re an American, we as a country are in over $40 trillion in debt, have spent approximately $15 trillion in foreign countries and foreign…
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) November 14, 2026

Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) wrote on X, "Before asking taxpayers for more, this administration owes answers about how existing funds are being spent and why our aviation system is still falling behind."

Sean Duffy wants $50 billion to fix our air traffic control system. But Congress already provided $12.5 billion for FAA modernization, and DOT and OMB have requested another $30.1 billion.

Before asking taxpayers for more, this administration owes answers about how existing… https://t.co/eOOEvEpTE0
— Rep. Norma Torres (@NormaJTorres) November 14, 2026

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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