Burchett rips Johnson, Thune over FAA funding: 'Step up to the daggum plate'

This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. GOP Rep. Tim Burchett (Tenn.) called on his party's congressional leadership — House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) to "step up to the daggum plate" Saturday morning, urging the pair to pass legislation funding air travel infrastructure updates in light of Friday's nationwide ground stop. "We know that it wasn't some nefarious thing. We know we got antiquated material. The problem you're going to have, I think, is with the Senate," Burchett said in an appearance on Fox News's "Saturday in America." "Both Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune need to step up to the daggum plate … and pass a clean bill," he added. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the nationwide ground stop around 4 p.m. EST Friday, lasting for around four hours. During a briefing after the stoppage, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy again called on Congress to fund updates to the U.S.'s "incredibly old" air traffic control system. Johnson, during an interview on Saturday, echoed Duffy's funding demand saying, "We don't really need any investigation … we need further investment." Burchett, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), pointed to the ALERT Act — focused on aviation safety and the use of collision prevention technologies — while painting the picture of an ineffective Senate in his Fox remarks. The legislation, which was created in response to the fatal 2025 collision between an Army helicopter and a commercial jet near Reagan Washington National Airport, passed in the House in April but has yet to receive a vote in the upper chamber. In a press briefing Saturday morning, Duffy said a telecommunications line switch may have started Friday's FAA ground stoppage, noting contractor L3Harris had been replacing an older copper wire with a new fiber cable. On Friday, he attributed the incident to an overload of data on routers. Burchett suggested he thinks Congress could pass additional FAA funding within a week, urging Johnson and Thune to prioritize as the GOP prepares to relinquish its majorities to Democrats in January. "You know what's gonna be more expensive than this bill … funerals and lawsuits," Burchett said. "That's what we're gonna have if we don't fix this daggum problem." Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.