Former Trump Ally Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls $50B FAA Outage Funding Appeal 'Like a Shakedown for More Money'

Marjorie Taylor Greene has accused President Donald Trump's administration of using an aviation emergency to press Congress for more money. The former Republican congresswoman called the $50 billion (£37.82 billion) air traffic control modernisation request 'literally like a shakedown for more money' in posts on X on Saturday, 14 November.

Greene alleged officials were lying about Friday's disruption and claimed it was a cyberattack. She provided no evidence. Federal officials said they had found no indication of an attack, but the investigation was continuing.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday, 13 November, after telecommunications outages affected air traffic control communications and radar systems. The stop lasted more than four hours and was lifted at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time.

At a White House briefing, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said outdated switches and routers had become overloaded. The Department of Transportation said more than 3,500 aircraft were in the air when the ground stop began. More than 10,000 flights were disrupted, and FlightAware recorded more than 4,100 cancellations on Saturday.

Greene rejected that explanation. 'Plus they are lying. Of course it was a cyber attack,' she wrote. 'F---ing liars. But build the big ballroom and more weapons that's the only funding they really care about.'

Raw Story reported Greene's comments in posts responding to the briefing. Her cyberattack claim remains unsubstantiated, and the official cause is still under investigation.

Greene Accuses Officials of Using Crisis to Secure Funding

Greene focused on the cost of modernising the air traffic control system. Duffy called the situation an emergency and asked Congress for $50 billion. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said a complete overhaul was estimated to cost about the same amount.

'This press conference is unreal bulls---. It's literally like a shakedown for more money,' Greene wrote. She argued that Americans were being asked to pay more despite already paying taxes.

Mullin said there was no evidence pointing to a cyberattack, but officials were still investigating.

Greene contrasted the aviation request with Trump's call for another $350 billion for the military. Trump made that call in a Truth Social post on 12 November. Greene linked the spending to weapons and the war with Iran.

December Funding Deadline Adds Political Pressure

Congress faces an 11 December deadline for stopgap federal funding. The continuing resolution Trump signed on 2 September funds federal agencies through that date.

Greene accused Duffy and Mullin, both former members of Congress, of using 'a crisis like public blackmail' to win funding. No evidence presented at the briefing showed officials had deliberately caused the outage or misrepresented its cause.

Greene criticised Trump for not addressing the disruption while travellers faced delays. She said he had instead posted about Hollywood and tax incentives. Her comments follow her resignation from the House on 5 January 2026.

Georgia's 14th District elected Clay Fuller as her successor in a 7 April runoff, where he defeated Democrat Shawn Harris. Greene's criticism comes from a former lawmaker who was once a prominent Trump ally.

The outage renewed concerns about ageing air traffic control infrastructure, while the $50 billion overhaul became a political flashpoint. The cause remains under investigation, and Congress has yet to decide whether to provide the funding.