Democrats eye $61 billion in unspent ICE money for air traffic control after ground stop

A nationwide air traffic control outage on Friday grounded flights across the country and set off a fight over federal spending. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called on Congress to provide $50 billion to overhaul the system, while critics pointed to tens of billions of dollars given to immigration enforcement ¹.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the ground stop at 3:54 p.m. Eastern time Friday. Duffy said airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. ². It was the longest ground stop in 25 years ². More than 4,700 flights were canceled on Friday, and about 700 more were canceled for Saturday, according to FlightRadar24 ².

On tapeUSA TODAY · Nov 14

▶7:37

What Duffy said broke down

Duffy said outdated switches and routers became overloaded with data and gave inconsistent information. He said the agency did not completely lose radar or communications and brought aircraft down safely ¹. The Homeland Security secretary said there was no cyberattack ².

Duffy said the immediate problem was fixed and flying was safe. He warned that similar breakdowns could happen unless aging equipment is replaced ¹. He gave no detailed breakdown of the $50 billion figure at Friday's briefing ¹.

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“This is an emergency,” Duffy said at a press conference on Friday.

Democrats point to ICE

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said some of the extra money given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should go to the aviation system instead ¹.

There is a pot of 60 billion extra dollars on top of the regularly appropriated amount for ICE and we should use at least a portion of that money for the FAA

Congress gave ICE $74.85 billion in extra funding in 2025. That included $45 billion for detention and $29.85 billion for enforcement and related operations ¹. About $61 billion was still unspent as of June 30, according to Democratic staff on the Senate Budget Committee ¹.

On tapeCNN · Nov 14

▶1:52

Why it is not simple

The administration cannot just shift the money. A 2023 Congressional Research Service report says transfers between spending accounts are prohibited without specific legal authority. ICE and the FAA are in different departments, and the 2025 law set the ICE money aside for detention and enforcement ¹.

Congress could pass a law to cancel unspent ICE funds and give the money to the FAA. It could also grant specific transfer authority or approve new aviation money without taking it from ICE ¹.

Democrats won control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. They could try to cancel unspent ICE money after the new Congress takes office in January ¹.

The money already on the table

Earlier Friday, before the outage, Duffy and White House budget director Russell Vought asked lawmakers for $30.1 billion for aviation. That included $10.1 billion for air traffic control modernization and $18 billion for airport projects ¹.

Congress had already approved $12.5 billion over five years for air traffic control in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed July 4, 2025. That money is available through September 2029 ¹.

That matters because the new request is far larger than anything yet approved, and the party that will control Congress is already asking where the money should come from. Newsweek said it had contacted the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Department and Schatz's office for comment ¹. A September GAO report had warned about aging copper cables in the system ².

The Record

1. Jul 4, 2025Trump signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes $12.5 billion over five years for air traffic control ¹.
2. Jun 30, 2026About $61 billion of ICE's 2025 extra funding is still unspent, according to Democratic staff on the Senate Budget Committee ¹.
3. Nov 13, 2026FAA ground stop runs from 3:54 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET; Duffy asks Congress for $50 billion ¹².

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<h2>Democrats eye $61 billion in unspent ICE money for air traffic control after ground stop</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Capitol Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/democrats-eye-61-billion-in-unspent-ice-money-for-air-traffic-control-after-ground">The GOP Files</a> on Saturday, November 14, 2026.</em></p> <p>A nationwide air traffic control outage on Friday grounded flights across the country and set off a fight over federal spending. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called on Congress to provide $50 billion to overhaul the system, while critics pointed to tens of billions of dollars given to immigration enforcement .</p> <p>The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the ground stop at 3:54 p.m. Eastern time Friday. Duffy said airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. . It was the longest ground stop in 25 years . More than 4,700 flights were canceled on Friday, and about 700 more were canceled for Saturday, according to FlightRadar24 .</p> <h2>What Duffy said broke down</h2> <p>Duffy said outdated switches and routers became overloaded with data and gave inconsistent information. He said the agency did not completely lose radar or communications and brought aircraft down safely . The Homeland Security secretary said there was no cyberattack .</p> <p>Duffy said the immediate problem was fixed and flying was safe. He warned that similar breakdowns could happen unless aging equipment is replaced . He gave no detailed breakdown of the $50 billion figure at Friday&#39;s briefing .</p> <blockquote><p>“This is an emergency,” Duffy said at a press conference on Friday.</p><p>&mdash; Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary</p></blockquote> <h2>Democrats point to ICE</h2> <p>Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said some of the extra money given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should go to the aviation system instead .</p> <blockquote><p>There is a pot of 60 billion extra dollars on top of the regularly appropriated amount for ICE and we should use at least a portion of that money for the FAA</p><p>&mdash; Brian Schatz, U.S. Senator, D-Hawaii</p></blockquote> <p>Congress gave ICE $74.85 billion in extra funding in 2025. That included $45 billion for detention and $29.85 billion for enforcement and related operations . About $61 billion was still unspent as of June 30, according to Democratic staff on the Senate Budget Committee .</p> <h2>Why it is not simple</h2> <p>The administration cannot just shift the money. A 2023 Congressional Research Service report says transfers between spending accounts are prohibited without specific legal authority. ICE and the FAA are in different departments, and the 2025 law set the ICE money aside for detention and enforcement .</p> <p>Congress could pass a law to cancel unspent ICE funds and give the money to the FAA. It could also grant specific transfer authority or approve new aviation money without taking it from ICE .</p> <p>Democrats won control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. They could try to cancel unspent ICE money after the new Congress takes office in January .</p> <h2>The money already on the table</h2> <p>Earlier Friday, before the outage, Duffy and White House budget director Russell Vought asked lawmakers for $30.1 billion for aviation. That included $10.1 billion for air traffic control modernization and $18 billion for airport projects .</p> <p>Congress had already approved $12.5 billion over five years for air traffic control in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed July 4, 2025. That money is available through September 2029 .</p> <p>That matters because the new request is far larger than anything yet approved, and the party that will control Congress is already asking where the money should come from. Newsweek said it had contacted the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Department and Schatz&#39;s office for comment . A September GAO report had warned about aging copper cables in the system .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/democrats-eye-61-billion-in-unspent-ice-money-for-air-traffic-control-after-ground">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/democrats-eye-61-billion-in-unspent-ice-money-for-air-traffic-control-after-ground.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Newsweek, “FAA Crisis Sparks Questions Over Billions Allocated to ICE” (2026-11-14). newsweek.com/faa-crisis-sparks-questions-over-billions-alloc
2. Al Jazeera, “FAA ground stop lifted: Why were US flights grounded, and what's next?” (2026-11-14). aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/14/faa-ground-stop-lifted-why-wer

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