Andrew Tangel

And they do that with the tools that went dead.

And they do that with the tools that went dead.

There are planes taking off, landing, going hundreds of miles per hour. They're all in sequence. They need to know where not to fly. They need to know not to go in a certain direction to not have a conflict with another aircraft and crash into it.

There are planes taking off, landing, going hundreds of miles per hour. They're all in sequence. They need to know where not to fly. They need to know not to go in a certain direction to not have a conflict with another aircraft and crash into it.

And when the basic tools that air traffic controllers use don't work, it's very scary for them, but it raises obvious safety issues for the traveling public.

And when the basic tools that air traffic controllers use don't work, it's very scary for them, but it raises obvious safety issues for the traveling public.

So that results in controllers needing to work six-day weeks, 10-hour days. There are reports of fatigue, stress, and so forth. I mean, controllers are known to like overtime, but some say that after a while, they'd rather have a better life-work balance.

So that results in controllers needing to work six-day weeks, 10-hour days. There are reports of fatigue, stress, and so forth. I mean, controllers are known to like overtime, but some say that after a while, they'd rather have a better life-work balance.

They lost their radios and their radars for about 90 seconds, and they couldn't communicate with pilots. And that was a very scary situation for the controllers. They are managing Busy, complex airspace, and they keep airplanes safely separated. They tell them where to go, where to point the nose, how fast to go, all of that, and keep them out of harm's way.

They lost their radios and their radars for about 90 seconds, and they couldn't communicate with pilots. And that was a very scary situation for the controllers. They are managing Busy, complex airspace, and they keep airplanes safely separated. They tell them where to go, where to point the nose, how fast to go, all of that, and keep them out of harm's way.

And they do that with the tools that went dead.

There are planes taking off, landing, going hundreds of miles per hour. They're all in sequence. They need to know where not to fly. They need to know not to go in a certain direction to not have a conflict with another aircraft and crash into it.

And when the basic tools that air traffic controllers use don't work, it's very scary for them, but it raises obvious safety issues for the traveling public.

So that results in controllers needing to work six-day weeks, 10-hour days. There are reports of fatigue, stress, and so forth. I mean, controllers are known to like overtime, but some say that after a while, they'd rather have a better life-work balance.

They lost their radios and their radars for about 90 seconds, and they couldn't communicate with pilots. And that was a very scary situation for the controllers. They are managing Busy, complex airspace, and they keep airplanes safely separated. They tell them where to go, where to point the nose, how fast to go, all of that, and keep them out of harm's way.

One thing we wanted to accomplish with the interview is just to humanize one of these air traffic controllers who are right in the middle of this. They are behind the scenes. They're the ones who are under pressure to keep the planes on time and keep everyone safe with the resources that they have or don't have.

One thing we wanted to accomplish with the interview is just to humanize one of these air traffic controllers who are right in the middle of this. They are behind the scenes. They're the ones who are under pressure to keep the planes on time and keep everyone safe with the resources that they have or don't have.

I hope him coming forward helps personalize the situation and can help people at least see who the humans are behind the scenes. Is there anything you want to add? Anything I didn't ask about that I should have asked about?

I hope him coming forward helps personalize the situation and can help people at least see who the humans are behind the scenes. Is there anything you want to add? Anything I didn't ask about that I should have asked about?

We heard he wanted to go public and talk to us on the record, and we were eager to get his perspective.

We heard he wanted to go public and talk to us on the record, and we were eager to get his perspective.

It was suggested that we meet at a gun range he goes to. And at this particular range, there's this lounge that's outfitted with Chesterfield chairs and couches and fireplace. It's very cozy.

It was suggested that we meet at a gun range he goes to. And at this particular range, there's this lounge that's outfitted with Chesterfield chairs and couches and fireplace. It's very cozy.

And why do you like it?

And why do you like it?

What do air traffic controllers do and what role do they play in aviation safety?

What do air traffic controllers do and what role do they play in aviation safety?

The delays resulting from New York generally, including this particular facility, ripple throughout the country.

The delays resulting from New York generally, including this particular facility, ripple throughout the country.

They thought the new location in Philadelphia would be more attractive and lead to more success, lead to more of a pipeline for training. And early on, the FAA had touted some early signs of potential success. They had a healthier pipeline of trainees coming in. They found Philly more attractive. And look, Philadelphia is more affordable than Long Island.

They thought the new location in Philadelphia would be more attractive and lead to more success, lead to more of a pipeline for training. And early on, the FAA had touted some early signs of potential success. They had a healthier pipeline of trainees coming in. They found Philly more attractive. And look, Philadelphia is more affordable than Long Island.

When the FAA pulled off this move, they did so with a technological workaround, essentially. They didn't move a radar system or open up a new radar system. They opened up a satellite radar system that basically was just getting a feed via relay from the previous location on Long Island. And that introduced a lot of technological risks.

When the FAA pulled off this move, they did so with a technological workaround, essentially. They didn't move a radar system or open up a new radar system. They opened up a satellite radar system that basically was just getting a feed via relay from the previous location on Long Island. And that introduced a lot of technological risks.

Every controller's nightmare is what happened at Reagan National in January, where a plane and a helicopter collided. That is, these are safety professionals behind the scenes. They do not want that to happen. And their tools are radar and radios. And when those go out, I've heard it compared to driving down the highway blindfolded and your hands tied.

Every controller's nightmare is what happened at Reagan National in January, where a plane and a helicopter collided. That is, these are safety professionals behind the scenes. They do not want that to happen. And their tools are radar and radios. And when those go out, I've heard it compared to driving down the highway blindfolded and your hands tied.

The controllers were very shaken by this event on April 28th and the ones subsequent to it. And they were stressed out and they were worried about something bad happening. And after that event, four of them took stress-related trauma leave from their positions. And that added to the disruptions and staffing constraints at an already thinly staffed facility.

The controllers were very shaken by this event on April 28th and the ones subsequent to it. And they were stressed out and they were worried about something bad happening. And after that event, four of them took stress-related trauma leave from their positions. And that added to the disruptions and staffing constraints at an already thinly staffed facility.

You yourself are on trauma leave right now, correct? Correct. Yes. Could you walk us through the close call on May 4th that led you to take that leave?

You yourself are on trauma leave right now, correct? Correct. Yes. Could you walk us through the close call on May 4th that led you to take that leave?

Overall, what's been the toll of the fatigue and stress of the job on you personally?

Overall, what's been the toll of the fatigue and stress of the job on you personally?

They could, I guess, go back to the old setup back in Long Island. But there's a lot riding on this for... the FAA, airlines, passengers, and the country's transportation system, the real test is gonna be a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. It's a big experiment that we're all sort of caught in the middle of.

They could, I guess, go back to the old setup back in Long Island. But there's a lot riding on this for... the FAA, airlines, passengers, and the country's transportation system, the real test is gonna be a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. It's a big experiment that we're all sort of caught in the middle of.

And this big high-stakes move by the FAA raises the question of whether or not the cure, at least for now, is worse than the disease.

And this big high-stakes move by the FAA raises the question of whether or not the cure, at least for now, is worse than the disease.

New York has been a major bottleneck for years. That's our colleague Andrew Tangle. He covers aviation. It's some of the most complex airspace in the world, definitely in the country.

New York has been a major bottleneck for years. That's our colleague Andrew Tangle. He covers aviation. It's some of the most complex airspace in the world, definitely in the country.

The controllers have to make sure that they're lining up all the airplanes safely. They tell them where to go, where to turn, what altitude, what speed to go at, and they've got to juggle all this and sort of act like a conductor at an orchestra.

The controllers have to make sure that they're lining up all the airplanes safely. They tell them where to go, where to turn, what altitude, what speed to go at, and they've got to juggle all this and sort of act like a conductor at an orchestra.

It's this big building tucked in the suburbs of New York City out on Long Island in the town of Westbury. And it's called the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, or in air traffic control jargon, it's a TRACON.

It's this big building tucked in the suburbs of New York City out on Long Island in the town of Westbury. And it's called the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, or in air traffic control jargon, it's a TRACON.

It's kind of the biggest, baddest TRACON in the whole country.

It's kind of the biggest, baddest TRACON in the whole country.

You've got to be spot on. It's a little bit of an adrenaline rush. It can be different every day. Oh, we're busy? All right, let's go. Let's move. Historically, it is known for having its own culture. People who've worked there historically have described it as a bit of a sort of a rough-and-tumble place where they sort of do things their own way.

You've got to be spot on. It's a little bit of an adrenaline rush. It can be different every day. Oh, we're busy? All right, let's go. Let's move. Historically, it is known for having its own culture. People who've worked there historically have described it as a bit of a sort of a rough-and-tumble place where they sort of do things their own way.

So if you think about it, you've got Newark, you've got LaGuardia, you've got JFK, and you've got all these other little airports around them, like Teterboro and so forth, and they're all stacked on top of each other. And planes coming from all around the world, helicopters, sightseeing tours in Manhattan, it's all just right there together, and there's not much space.

So if you think about it, you've got Newark, you've got LaGuardia, you've got JFK, and you've got all these other little airports around them, like Teterboro and so forth, and they're all stacked on top of each other. And planes coming from all around the world, helicopters, sightseeing tours in Manhattan, it's all just right there together, and there's not much space.

Some might say out of necessity because it's so difficult with all the airports stacked on top of each other.

Some might say out of necessity because it's so difficult with all the airports stacked on top of each other.

We've heard it described as sort of a place where you get told to suck it up and, you know, deal with. I think it's maybe symbolized in, like, the local New York TRACON graphic on social media with, like, the skeleton, you know, the skull with the headset.

We've heard it described as sort of a place where you get told to suck it up and, you know, deal with. I think it's maybe symbolized in, like, the local New York TRACON graphic on social media with, like, the skeleton, you know, the skull with the headset.

Yeah, it's a tough place to work and a tough place to thrive. Kind of like New York, right?

Yeah, it's a tough place to work and a tough place to thrive. Kind of like New York, right?

There's the question about whether or not the culture at the New York TRACON led to people not being successful in training, either because they couldn't cut it, they didn't like the environment, they didn't like Long Island. For whatever reason, new recruits from the academy were leaving at very high numbers.

There's the question about whether or not the culture at the New York TRACON led to people not being successful in training, either because they couldn't cut it, they didn't like the environment, they didn't like Long Island. For whatever reason, new recruits from the academy were leaving at very high numbers.

They went through with it basically on the theory that they will have a better job of recruiting new staff and getting them trained successfully in Philadelphia.

They went through with it basically on the theory that they will have a better job of recruiting new staff and getting them trained successfully in Philadelphia.

They opposed it. They pushed back. They raised safety concerns.

They opposed it. They pushed back. They raised safety concerns.

The local union leader saw this move of the Newark airspace down to Philadelphia as a way to undermine the union's control of the New York TRACON.

The local union leader saw this move of the Newark airspace down to Philadelphia as a way to undermine the union's control of the New York TRACON.

It's kind of like a metaphor for New York City.

It's kind of like a metaphor for New York City.

Airlines are finely tuned operations, and once that's thrown off, it just sort of cascades through the nation's air travel system.

Airlines are finely tuned operations, and once that's thrown off, it just sort of cascades through the nation's air travel system.

So the controller's telling the pilots where to point the nose and how to get safely on the ground. He's got what they call targets on the screen, when all of a sudden... Black.

So the controller's telling the pilots where to point the nose and how to get safely on the ground. He's got what they call targets on the screen, when all of a sudden... Black.

He goes to the backup. It's also black. Wow. For a controller, it's like having a bag over your head when you're going down the highway.

He goes to the backup. It's also black. Wow. For a controller, it's like having a bag over your head when you're going down the highway.

Yeah, in the end, the radar came back, the planes landed safely, but this is a heart-stopping moment.

Yeah, in the end, the radar came back, the planes landed safely, but this is a heart-stopping moment.

a contractor essentially pulled the wrong circuit and cut off the feed that was coming from Long Island.

a contractor essentially pulled the wrong circuit and cut off the feed that was coming from Long Island.

The controller's radios failed. They couldn't communicate easily with other facilities. Yeah, we have no answer on approach, so I don't know. One FedEx plane coming in for a landing at Newark missed its final approach because the controllers couldn't talk to them and flew potentially into oncoming traffic departing from LaGuardia.

The controller's radios failed. They couldn't communicate easily with other facilities. Yeah, we have no answer on approach, so I don't know. One FedEx plane coming in for a landing at Newark missed its final approach because the controllers couldn't talk to them and flew potentially into oncoming traffic departing from LaGuardia.

Now, the FAA has been dealing with this since then, but you can see how that episode could be really scary for controllers.

Now, the FAA has been dealing with this since then, but you can see how that episode could be really scary for controllers.

One controller told me when they were on Long Island, we used to get our ass kicked once a week. Now we get our ass kicked every day.

One controller told me when they were on Long Island, we used to get our ass kicked once a week. Now we get our ass kicked every day.

Thanks for watching. And that staffing shortage was made worse recently because some of those controllers went on so-called trauma leave, which they're allowed to take after scary experiences like having those radio failures earlier in November.

Thanks for watching. And that staffing shortage was made worse recently because some of those controllers went on so-called trauma leave, which they're allowed to take after scary experiences like having those radio failures earlier in November.

There's a risk of disruption. You could face a significant delay departing from Newark, arriving at Newark, or leaving where you're flying from to go to Newark because they put in a ground stop or a delay so that you're stuck on the tarmac in San Francisco or wherever.

There's a risk of disruption. You could face a significant delay departing from Newark, arriving at Newark, or leaving where you're flying from to go to Newark because they put in a ground stop or a delay so that you're stuck on the tarmac in San Francisco or wherever.

That is a difficult question to answer. The FAA and the union for controllers will always insist that they won't sacrifice safety for efficiency. There's a question of fatigue, and that's been an issue raised by the union over the last few years that, you know, at some point, the system's going to break.

That is a difficult question to answer. The FAA and the union for controllers will always insist that they won't sacrifice safety for efficiency. There's a question of fatigue, and that's been an issue raised by the union over the last few years that, you know, at some point, the system's going to break.

You know, if you're constantly working more because of the short staffing, it can lead to more close calls and, God forbid, something worse.

You know, if you're constantly working more because of the short staffing, it can lead to more close calls and, God forbid, something worse.

It's analogous to any profession where you have the same amount of workload and not enough people. When you've got too much on one controller's plate, the FAA, they basically, they slow air traffic down so that the controllers who are there can handle it safely.

It's analogous to any profession where you have the same amount of workload and not enough people. When you've got too much on one controller's plate, the FAA, they basically, they slow air traffic down so that the controllers who are there can handle it safely.

I think if it's successful, people will go back to not thinking about it, if it's just part of the system, part of air travel that we take for granted. You'll see fewer delays in New York and around the country. You'll see more flights, and then presumably you'll see fewer close calls if some of the safety events are related to the staffing situation. or any tech issues.

I think if it's successful, people will go back to not thinking about it, if it's just part of the system, part of air travel that we take for granted. You'll see fewer delays in New York and around the country. You'll see more flights, and then presumably you'll see fewer close calls if some of the safety events are related to the staffing situation. or any tech issues.

One thing we wanted to accomplish with the interview is just to humanize one of these air traffic controllers who are right in the middle of this. They are behind the scenes. They're the ones who are under pressure to keep the planes on time and keep everyone safe with the resources that they have or don't have.

I hope him coming forward helps personalize the situation and can help people at least see who the humans are behind the scenes. Is there anything you want to add? Anything I didn't ask about that I should have asked about?

We heard he wanted to go public and talk to us on the record, and we were eager to get his perspective.

It was suggested that we meet at a gun range he goes to. And at this particular range, there's this lounge that's outfitted with Chesterfield chairs and couches and fireplace. It's very cozy.

And why do you like it?

What do air traffic controllers do and what role do they play in aviation safety?

The delays resulting from New York generally, including this particular facility, ripple throughout the country.

They thought the new location in Philadelphia would be more attractive and lead to more success, lead to more of a pipeline for training. And early on, the FAA had touted some early signs of potential success. They had a healthier pipeline of trainees coming in. They found Philly more attractive. And look, Philadelphia is more affordable than Long Island.

When the FAA pulled off this move, they did so with a technological workaround, essentially. They didn't move a radar system or open up a new radar system. They opened up a satellite radar system that basically was just getting a feed via relay from the previous location on Long Island. And that introduced a lot of technological risks.

Every controller's nightmare is what happened at Reagan National in January, where a plane and a helicopter collided. That is, these are safety professionals behind the scenes. They do not want that to happen. And their tools are radar and radios. And when those go out, I've heard it compared to driving down the highway blindfolded and your hands tied.

The controllers were very shaken by this event on April 28th and the ones subsequent to it. And they were stressed out and they were worried about something bad happening. And after that event, four of them took stress-related trauma leave from their positions. And that added to the disruptions and staffing constraints at an already thinly staffed facility.

You yourself are on trauma leave right now, correct? Correct. Yes. Could you walk us through the close call on May 4th that led you to take that leave?

Overall, what's been the toll of the fatigue and stress of the job on you personally?

They could, I guess, go back to the old setup back in Long Island. But there's a lot riding on this for... the FAA, airlines, passengers, and the country's transportation system, the real test is gonna be a year from now, two years from now, three years from now. It's a big experiment that we're all sort of caught in the middle of.

And this big high-stakes move by the FAA raises the question of whether or not the cure, at least for now, is worse than the disease.

New York has been a major bottleneck for years. That's our colleague Andrew Tangle. He covers aviation. It's some of the most complex airspace in the world, definitely in the country.

The controllers have to make sure that they're lining up all the airplanes safely. They tell them where to go, where to turn, what altitude, what speed to go at, and they've got to juggle all this and sort of act like a conductor at an orchestra.

It's this big building tucked in the suburbs of New York City out on Long Island in the town of Westbury. And it's called the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, or in air traffic control jargon, it's a TRACON.

It's kind of the biggest, baddest TRACON in the whole country.

You've got to be spot on. It's a little bit of an adrenaline rush. It can be different every day. Oh, we're busy? All right, let's go. Let's move. Historically, it is known for having its own culture. People who've worked there historically have described it as a bit of a sort of a rough-and-tumble place where they sort of do things their own way.

So if you think about it, you've got Newark, you've got LaGuardia, you've got JFK, and you've got all these other little airports around them, like Teterboro and so forth, and they're all stacked on top of each other. And planes coming from all around the world, helicopters, sightseeing tours in Manhattan, it's all just right there together, and there's not much space.

Some might say out of necessity because it's so difficult with all the airports stacked on top of each other.

We've heard it described as sort of a place where you get told to suck it up and, you know, deal with. I think it's maybe symbolized in, like, the local New York TRACON graphic on social media with, like, the skeleton, you know, the skull with the headset.

Yeah, it's a tough place to work and a tough place to thrive. Kind of like New York, right?

There's the question about whether or not the culture at the New York TRACON led to people not being successful in training, either because they couldn't cut it, they didn't like the environment, they didn't like Long Island. For whatever reason, new recruits from the academy were leaving at very high numbers.

They went through with it basically on the theory that they will have a better job of recruiting new staff and getting them trained successfully in Philadelphia.

They opposed it. They pushed back. They raised safety concerns.

The local union leader saw this move of the Newark airspace down to Philadelphia as a way to undermine the union's control of the New York TRACON.

It's kind of like a metaphor for New York City.

Airlines are finely tuned operations, and once that's thrown off, it just sort of cascades through the nation's air travel system.

So the controller's telling the pilots where to point the nose and how to get safely on the ground. He's got what they call targets on the screen, when all of a sudden... Black.

He goes to the backup. It's also black. Wow. For a controller, it's like having a bag over your head when you're going down the highway.

Yeah, in the end, the radar came back, the planes landed safely, but this is a heart-stopping moment.

a contractor essentially pulled the wrong circuit and cut off the feed that was coming from Long Island.

The controller's radios failed. They couldn't communicate easily with other facilities. Yeah, we have no answer on approach, so I don't know. One FedEx plane coming in for a landing at Newark missed its final approach because the controllers couldn't talk to them and flew potentially into oncoming traffic departing from LaGuardia.

Now, the FAA has been dealing with this since then, but you can see how that episode could be really scary for controllers.

One controller told me when they were on Long Island, we used to get our ass kicked once a week. Now we get our ass kicked every day.

Thanks for watching. And that staffing shortage was made worse recently because some of those controllers went on so-called trauma leave, which they're allowed to take after scary experiences like having those radio failures earlier in November.

There's a risk of disruption. You could face a significant delay departing from Newark, arriving at Newark, or leaving where you're flying from to go to Newark because they put in a ground stop or a delay so that you're stuck on the tarmac in San Francisco or wherever.

That is a difficult question to answer. The FAA and the union for controllers will always insist that they won't sacrifice safety for efficiency. There's a question of fatigue, and that's been an issue raised by the union over the last few years that, you know, at some point, the system's going to break.

You know, if you're constantly working more because of the short staffing, it can lead to more close calls and, God forbid, something worse.

It's analogous to any profession where you have the same amount of workload and not enough people. When you've got too much on one controller's plate, the FAA, they basically, they slow air traffic down so that the controllers who are there can handle it safely.

I think if it's successful, people will go back to not thinking about it, if it's just part of the system, part of air travel that we take for granted. You'll see fewer delays in New York and around the country. You'll see more flights, and then presumably you'll see fewer close calls if some of the safety events are related to the staffing situation. or any tech issues.

The air traffic control system is this vast nationwide network of radars and navigation aids and air traffic control facilities, but a lot of the equipment is really old. And the state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect.

The air traffic control system is this vast nationwide network of radars and navigation aids and air traffic control facilities, but a lot of the equipment is really old. And the state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect.

You essentially have a system that is starved of resources that has had a lot of political interference with its ability to get money and its ability to spend money. And the results is that the Federal Aviation Administration spends like 90% or more of its budget for technology and equipment on maintaining old systems that are in many cases obsolete or nearing obsolescence.

You essentially have a system that is starved of resources that has had a lot of political interference with its ability to get money and its ability to spend money. And the results is that the Federal Aviation Administration spends like 90% or more of its budget for technology and equipment on maintaining old systems that are in many cases obsolete or nearing obsolescence.

Last year, the Government Accountability Office issued a report and said basically about three quarters of the FAA's air traffic systems were either obsolete or too difficult to reliably maintain. The price tag really isn't clear for how much this broad overhaul might cost, but there are estimates within the industry and the government that

Last year, the Government Accountability Office issued a report and said basically about three quarters of the FAA's air traffic systems were either obsolete or too difficult to reliably maintain. The price tag really isn't clear for how much this broad overhaul might cost, but there are estimates within the industry and the government that

put the costs somewhere between $20 billion and $40 billion.

put the costs somewhere between $20 billion and $40 billion.

The state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect. It is a question about whether or not this administration that is focused on slowing down in many ways can beef up a very anemic and neglected system that everyone seems to think is long overdue for an overhaul.

The state of the system is really a function of years and years of neglect. It is a question about whether or not this administration that is focused on slowing down in many ways can beef up a very anemic and neglected system that everyone seems to think is long overdue for an overhaul.

Trump's transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, has made this a top priority. He wants a new state-of-the-art, envy-of-the-world air traffic control system. He knows it's going to be expensive, difficult to pull off in a short time frame, especially how he's going to pay for it, how it's going to work. All these other questions are important.

Trump's transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, has made this a top priority. He wants a new state-of-the-art, envy-of-the-world air traffic control system. He knows it's going to be expensive, difficult to pull off in a short time frame, especially how he's going to pay for it, how it's going to work. All these other questions are important.

To be determined, the funding question is what has hobbled the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation over the years. He says he's got Trump's enthusiastic backing to do something big and bold and transformational for the system and can set it up for success where others have failed in the past.

To be determined, the funding question is what has hobbled the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation over the years. He says he's got Trump's enthusiastic backing to do something big and bold and transformational for the system and can set it up for success where others have failed in the past.

The federal government has been cutting costs and cutting its workforce, but not the air traffic control organization. They have exempted air traffic controllers from workforce cuts and early retirement programs. They are trying to quote unquote surge hiring and try to retain the air traffic controllers, keep them from retiring by offering them bonuses.

The federal government has been cutting costs and cutting its workforce, but not the air traffic control organization. They have exempted air traffic controllers from workforce cuts and early retirement programs. They are trying to quote unquote surge hiring and try to retain the air traffic controllers, keep them from retiring by offering them bonuses.

So it is a question about whether or not this administration that is focused on slimming down in many ways can beef up a very anemic and neglected system that everyone seems to think is long overdue for an overhaul.

So it is a question about whether or not this administration that is focused on slimming down in many ways can beef up a very anemic and neglected system that everyone seems to think is long overdue for an overhaul.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks for having me.

No, I wouldn't see it as a promotion, but it's certainly a serious game of musical chairs over here at the White House. Just after we were hearing rumblings that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was going to be ousted, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was actually just being moved into an empty seat. And that would be the U.N.

No, I wouldn't see it as a promotion, but it's certainly a serious game of musical chairs over here at the White House. Just after we were hearing rumblings that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz was going to be ousted, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was actually just being moved into an empty seat. And that would be the U.N.

ambassador that was going to be held by Elise Stefanik until she was asked to come back to her role as a member of Congress because of the tight margins there in the House.

ambassador that was going to be held by Elise Stefanik until she was asked to come back to her role as a member of Congress because of the tight margins there in the House.

Well, this is another hat that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is going to have to wear. There was a tweet, I can't take credit for it, but just added up all of the different roles that he's now been appointed to. And in addition to Secretary of State and now National Security Advisor, he's the acting USAID admin. He's also the acting archivist.

Well, this is another hat that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is going to have to wear. There was a tweet, I can't take credit for it, but just added up all of the different roles that he's now been appointed to. And in addition to Secretary of State and now National Security Advisor, he's the acting USAID admin. He's also the acting archivist.

So Trump is really placing a lot of responsibility in Marco Rubio. And that signals to us not only how much Trump puts his respect and trust in Rubio and his administration and carrying out his foreign policy, but also how he's going to at least approach the NSA role for now.

So Trump is really placing a lot of responsibility in Marco Rubio. And that signals to us not only how much Trump puts his respect and trust in Rubio and his administration and carrying out his foreign policy, but also how he's going to at least approach the NSA role for now.

Waltz had been seen as on the outs in the West Wing and hadn't been as actively involved with some of the major foreign policy negotiations that are going on right now. You've seen Steve Witkoff has been traveling the world doing a lot of these big negotiations and deals. At the same time, the president's sensitive to the idea that he's giving a scalp to the press over the Signal episode.

Waltz had been seen as on the outs in the West Wing and hadn't been as actively involved with some of the major foreign policy negotiations that are going on right now. You've seen Steve Witkoff has been traveling the world doing a lot of these big negotiations and deals. At the same time, the president's sensitive to the idea that he's giving a scalp to the press over the Signal episode.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Plus, President Trump decides to refurbish a Qatari airplane, frustrated by Boeing's delays in delivering a new Air Force One.

Plus, President Trump decides to refurbish a Qatari airplane, frustrated by Boeing's delays in delivering a new Air Force One.