Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (February 20, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today led 12 colleagues in a letter to Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy urging the agency to stop the mass layoffs and firing of essential transportation safety employees and instead focus on prioritizing safety. The lawmakers demand information regarding DOT plans to protect passengers and prevent future crashes.

In the letter the lawmakers write, “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.”

The lawmakers requested responses by March 3 to questions that include:

  • How many DOT employees were offered the buyout? How many accepted? How many declined or did not respond?
  • How many DOT employees were ineligible to take the buyout offer?
  • How many DOT employees have lost their jobs since January 20, 2025?
  • What is Musk’s and DOGE’s role in reviewing DOT personnel and program information? What steps is the Department is taking to ensure that Musk and the DOGE do not compromise public safety?
  • What is Musk’s and DOGE’s involvement with the ATC system?

The letter was co-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.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

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