February 20, 2025 11:10 a.m.

On Thursday, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with Massachusetts’ Senator Edward Markey pushed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to stop the mass layoffs and firing of essential transportation safety employees.

A joint release said the lawmakers are demanding that the Department of Transportation release information regarding its plans to protect passenger’s safety and prevent future crashes.

In a letter, the senators 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”. The letter continued, “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 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”. The letter ended by saying, “We urge you to cease this dangerous approach to governing and request important information on how the Department of Transportation plans to prioritize safety in this environment”.

In addition to Merkley, Wyden and Markey, the letter was signed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and nine other senators.