Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted the Biden administration as Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down operations early Saturday, leaving thousands of travelers scrambling.
Spirit halted all flights around 3 a.m., shuttered customer service operations and began what Duffy described as an “orderly liquidation process,” a move that effectively grounded the carrier overnight and eliminated any immediate support for passengers who had already booked travel.
“Spirit does not have airplanes in the air flying as of this morning,” Duffy said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
“If you have a flight scheduled with Spirit Airlines, don’t show up at the airport. There will be no one here to assist you.”
.@SecDuffy: "Spirit tried to merge with JetBlue. The Joe Biden-Pete Buttigieg administration and DOJ tanked that deal. Immediately after that, they filed for bankruptcy… I'm proud of the American airlines that have stepped up to take care of the passengers of Spirit…" pic.twitter.com/myF2w0yrpw
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 3, 2026
The sudden shutdown triggered a coordinated response among federal officials and major airlines, as the Department of Transportation worked with competing carriers to absorb stranded passengers and stabilize fares in the immediate aftermath.
Duffy said several airlines moved quickly to cap prices, an effort designed to prevent sharp spikes as demand surged.
“United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest are capping their ticket prices,” he commented. “It is normally going to be about $200 for a one-way ticket.”
While the collapse created immediate disruption, Duffy framed the airline’s downfall as the culmination of earlier policy decisions by the Biden administration, pointing specifically to the federal government’s intervention in a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue.
🪖Nine battle-tested candidates are ready to strike a decisive blow — but only if they get the support they need right now. 🪖 Join the grassroots push to protect the House Majority and back them today! ➡️➡️➡️ Make a 9X impact!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
“The Joe Biden-Pete Buttigieg administration and DOJ tanked that deal,” Duffy remarked. “Immediately after that, they filed for bankruptcy.”
The Justice Department, under Biden, had challenged the merger on antitrust grounds, ultimately preventing the combination from moving forward. Duffy argued that decision weakened Spirit’s long-term viability.
“There was a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit and Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg along with the Biden DOJ decided that they did not want that merger to take place,” he stated.
He added that critics had warned at the time that blocking the deal could have negative consequences for competition and pricing.
“Now, many at the time said this was a disaster,” he pointed out. “This merger should have been allowed, and this today would indicate this is not better for travelers, this is not better for pricing, this is not better for competition, actually, it’s worse.”
Duffy said officials involved in the decision had characterized the outcome differently, describing it as a win for consumers.
“They bragged and said this was a victory for U.S. travelers who deserve lower prices and better choices,” he said. “This is not better for travelers. This is not better for pricing. This is not better for competition.
He pointed to Spirit’s financial condition in the years following the merger denial, noting repeated struggles to remain solvent.
“Once the merger was denied in 2024, Spirit filed for bankruptcy immediately after the denial,” Duffy noted.
Even so, he acknowledged that market conditions can complicate decisions about consolidation.
“I think it’s important that we always look with a keen eye when airlines want to merge,” Duffy went on. “If the markets are saying there needs to be a merger because there’s health issues with one of the airlines, or more than one airline, we have to take a look at it and make sure we make the right choices.”
As the airline’s shutdown unfolded, lawmakers weighed in with competing interpretations of what led to the collapse.
The 14,000 employees at Spirit who’ve lost their job loss, the travelers who will now pay higher fares, and the shareholders and debt holders who have been wiped out can thank Elizabeth Warren.
Electing left politicians, who have ZERO business experience, has consequences. https://t.co/rcLqVdfSL4
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) May 2, 2026
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno placed direct blame on Democratic leaders, specifically Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who supported blocking the merger, pointing to the immediate fallout for workers and travelers.
“The 14,000 employees at Spirit who’ve lost their job loss, the travelers who will now pay higher fares, and the shareholders and debt holders who have been wiped out can thank Elizabeth Warren,” Moreno tweeted on X.
He also referenced Warren’s earlier statements praising the decision to stop the deal, arguing that the consequences were now visible.
“Electing left politicians, who have ZERO business experience, has consequences,” Moreno added.
I've warned for months that a @JetBlue–@SpiritAirlines merger would have led to fewer flights and higher fares.@JusticeATR and @USDOT were right to stand up for consumers and fight against runaway airline consolidation.
This is a Biden win for flyers! https://t.co/lJFGS3ucv3
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 6, 2024
Warren, who had urged regulators to block the merger, defended her position at the time, warning that combining the two airlines could reduce competition and increase fares.
“We urge DOT not to be pressured by misleading comments generated through JetBlue’s Astroturf campaign, and to continue its careful scrutiny of the JetBlue-Spirit deal,” she wrote in a 2023 letter alongside several House Democrats.
After the deal collapsed, she framed the outcome as beneficial for consumers.
“I’ve warned for months that a [JetBlue]-[Spirit Airlines] merger would have led to fewer flights and higher fares,” Warren wrote. “This is a Biden win for flyers!”
So why did you block the Jet Blue, Spirit Airlines merger? The combined company would have been better competition than Jet Blue alone. now that Spirit is gone thanks to your intervention.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 2, 2026
The debate intensified after Spirit’s shutdown, with critics revisiting those earlier arguments.
Economist Peter Schiff questioned the logic of blocking the merger in light of the airline’s collapse.
“So why did you block the Jet Blue, Spirit Airlines merger?” Schiff wrote. “The combined company would have been better competition than Jet Blue alone. now that Spirit is gone thanks to your intervention.”
Warren later pointed to external pressures as contributing factors, blaming the Trump administration for rising oil prices tied to the conflict in Iran.
Spiking fuel prices from Trump’s war was the nail in the coffin for twice-bankrupted Spirit airline.
FWIW, JetBlue merger failed because a judge, appointed by Ronald Reagan, said the deal was illegal.
Republicans are desperate to shift blame from higher costs hitting families.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 2, 2026
Duffy rejected that explanation, arguing the airline’s problems predated those developments.
“Spirit was in dire straits long before the war with Iran,” he pushed back. “Their model wasn’t working. They couldn’t get to fiscal health.”
He also dismissed the idea of federal intervention to keep the airline afloat. “We oftentimes don’t have a half a billion dollars laying around in a spare account that we can put into a bailout of an airline,” Duffy added.
Secretary Duffy is showing the kind of real leadership in the transportation sector that people like Buttigieg never showed. Spirit was in trouble during Bidum’s term and Bidumb made it worse. Bidumb chose who would get his help.