February 20, 2025

Following Dangerous Cuts to Transportation Workforce, Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Demand Secretary Duffy Prioritize Safety

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden along with Massachusetts’ U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey pushed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to stop the mass layoffs and firing of essential transportation safety employees. The lawmakers demand the Department of Transportation (DOT) release information regarding the department’s plans to protect passenger’s safety and prevent future crashes.

In a letter, the lawmakers wrote, “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. By offering to buy out federal employees, ordering government agencies to prepare for mass layoffs, firing employees with critical safety functions, giving Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) free reign to cut the federal workforce, and turning Musk, DOGE, and their unqualified staff loose on the air traffic control system, the Trump administration risks undermining decades of safety improvements. We urge you to cease this dangerous approach to governing and request important information on how the Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to prioritize safety in this environment.” 

In addition to Merkley, Wyden, and Markey, the letter was signed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

Full text of the letter is here.