“When President Donald Trump blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for the deadly January crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, some aviation officials were appalled. Some were simply perplexed. But few officials inside the Federal Aviation Administration took the president’s remarks seriously,” The Atlantic reports.

“Not so for the political leadership of the Department of Transportation. The FAA’s parent agency agreed in March to spend as much as $2.1 million on an investigation into DEI policies and their impact on recent safety incidents.”

“Elon Musk is pushing lawmakers to help clear a path for driverless vehicles, part of a broader effort behind the scenes to lobby for a key priority of Tesla Inc,” Bloomberg reports.

“In recent weeks, Musk and people who work for him have been calling members of Congress directly to gather support… He has also been weighing in on revisions of a bill introduced on May 15 that would begin setting up a basic framework for autonomous vehicles.”

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) introduced a bill Thursday to rename the Washington, D.C., subway system after President Trump and his MAGA slogan, The Hill reports.

“A federal court judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to force New York to end congestion pricing, ensuring the tolling program would remain in place at least until early next month,” the New York Times reports.

“The move effectively keeps congestion pricing, which charges motorists to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, running through at least June 9 by blocking the Trump administration from withholding funding for New York transportation projects if the program is not halted. President Trump has vowed for months to kill the program.”

“More than 90 percent of the country’s 313 air traffic control facilities operate below the Federal Aviation Administration’s recommended staffing levels,” the New York Times reports.

“As of earlier this month, 285 facilities — which include traffic control towers and other locations — were below staffing thresholds set by the F.A.A. and the union. At 73 of those facilities, staffing is so low that at least a quarter of the work force is missing.”

“The Federal Railroad Administration, the nation’s railroad agency, has brought in the Boring Company, the tunneling firm founded by Elon Musk, to see if it could help with a multibillion-dollar Amtrak project,” the New York Times reports.

“President Donald Trump’s administration has said no one at the Federal Aviation Administration with a ‘critical safety’ position has been fired as it cuts the federal workforce, but some FAA jobs that were eliminated had direct roles in supporting safety inspectors and airport operations,” the AP reports.

“About 400 personnel were let go starting Friday. There is still not a complete picture of who was fired, but the union representing about 130 of them said the staffers included aviation safety assistants, maintenance mechanics and nautical information specialists.”

“As Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the nation’s busiest airports, struggled with technological disruptions and staffing shortages, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned in a television interview on Sunday that more U.S. airports could face similar disruptions as the busy summer travel season approached,” the New York Times reports.

Wall Street Journal: “America’s air-traffic control system has been troubled for years, the culmination of years of anemic funding, archaic technology and staffing problems.”

“A wake-up call sounded on Jan. 29 with a midair collision near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people. President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have pledged to overhaul the system.”

New York Magazine: “Though the Trump administration is playing hardball in public, a recent misstep in court filings shows that there are some internal concerns about the strength of its case to end congestion pricing.”

“On Wednesday, attorneys for the federal government seemingly filed an internal memo from Justice Department officials that laid out the weaknesses of the case in striking detail.”

“The Trump administration said Thursday states could lose federal transportation funding over failing to cooperate on federal immigration enforcement efforts or for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs,” Reuters reports.

“The Trump administration is threatening to stop future federal approvals for transportation projects in Manhattan and may withhold funding if New York City’s congestion pricing program continues,” Bloomberg reports.

Said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy: “The federal government sends billions to New York — but we won’t foot the bill if Governor Hochul continues to implement an illegal toll to backfill the budget of New York’s failing transit system. We are giving New York one last chance to turn back or prove their actions are not illegal.”

“The head of the federal Department of Transportation said on Thursday that the Trump administration would take control of the $7 billion renovation of Pennsylvania Station away from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,” the New York Times reports.

“The station, one of the busiest and also most maligned transit hubs in the world, has for decades been on the verge of a huge overhaul to remedy its cramped and dreary corridors. But the competing priorities of local, state and federal stakeholders have made progress difficult.”

“Elon Musk is urging retired air traffic controllers to come back to the workforce amid the nationwide shortage of workers,” The Hill reports.

Said Musk: “There is a shortage of top notch air traffic controllers. If you have retired, but are open to returning to work, please consider doing so.”

“New York City’s new toll on motorists driving into Manhattan’s busiest areas raised $48.6 million in its first month, as President Donald Trump is seeking to end the congestion pricing program just weeks after it began,” Bloomberg reports.

“President Trump has formulated a plan to force New York to ‘kill’ congestion pricing in Manhattan through the federal Department of Transportation,” the New York Post reports.

“Among potential penalties available to the agency are withholding millions of dollars in funding and reopening the environmental review process that authorized the toll under the Biden administration.”