It has been 11 days since the 2026 midterm election ushered in a blue wave and Republicans are already blaming “Democrats” for the crisis that unfolded on Friday with the nationwide ground stop. No one is buying it.
Former strategist to President Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, told Fox News, “This has been made a partisan issue. Not a single Democrat voted for the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ Which means they all voted against this $13 billion that was in there. Think about that. You have so much time to bloviate; when are you going to legislate? I hope this is a wake-up call.”
She went on to say that Democrats could have “honed in” on the funding for the FAA and supported it, but they didn’t. Democrats were bothered by the significant cuts to food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid, among other things. Those cuts have contributed ot an affordability crisis that helped usher in the new Democratic Congress.
Conway wasn’t the only one eager to attack Democrats over it. Several lawmakers have called for investigations into what happened and why the $12.5 billion in funding hasn’t improved the system that DOT claimed it would.
Outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dismissed Democrats’ desire to investigate the FAA funding. He told Kayleigh McEnany on Fox News: “We don’t really need any investigation to understand we need further investment.”
Johnson went on to complain that they never got all of the funding they wanted for the FAA because Democrats negotiated it down. Democrats weren’t in control of anything.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested several possibilities for the ground stop, prompting questions from technology experts.
“Kellyanne on the nationwide ground stop: ‘The question is really for the Democrats.’ PS. F—— Kellyanne Conway,” said one person.
“The Republicans HAVE ALL OF CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE,” said political commentator Joanne Carducci, also known as JoJoFromJerz.
Dozens of people responded to the clip, raging that Republicans have run all three branches of government for the past two years. Another individual recalled the government shutdown that unfolded at the end of last year.
Duffy complained in a press conference that the GOP’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ only gave $12.5 billion and that they need closer to $50 billion.
“Sean Duffy said the $12.5B in the big beautiful bill ‘won’t be enough’ before it even passed. Now, after a ground stop, it’s a $50B ask. That’s not a Democrat problem. That’s the admin admitting it underfunded the fix and looking for someone else to blame,” complained another person.
“Mike! This was a Republican Congress you f—— idiot! This is on the GOP! This didn’t take long for them to blame Democrats,” complained former House candidate Jeffrey Sites.
“I’m confused,” said a priest and teacher. “He says they got the votes they needed. They got it through and signed by the president. He does not say ‘We got less than we wanted because the Democrats negotiated us down’ or anything. No filibuster. So what’s the claim? Seems like this is on his Congress and administration?”
JUST IN: Speaker Mike Johnson blames Democrats over FAA funding. “We don’t really need any investigation to understand we need further investment,” he says, as the precise cause of Friday’s nationwide ground stop remains unresolved. Follow along for the latest here: https://t.co/zNyRfC82L0
— Donny Evans (@iamdonnyevans) November 14, 2026
Kellyanne on Ground Stop: Not a single Democrat voted for the big beautiful bill which means they all voted against the $13 billion. The question is really for the Democrats. You have so much time to bloviate, when are you going to legislate? I hope this is a wake up call. https://t.co/sFY3Drsdpl
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 14, 2026