Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg fired back at his successor, Sean Duffy, on Monday after Duffy blamed the Biden administration for Spirit Airlines' shutdown. The exchange underscores a deepening political rift over the low-cost carrier's demise.
Duffy, appearing on Fox News's "Fox and Friends," argued that Buttigieg "made the wrong call" by backing the Justice Department's effort to block JetBlue Airways' acquisition of Spirit. A federal judge in Massachusetts halted the $3.8 billion deal in 2024, ruling it violated antitrust law. The Justice Department and multiple state attorneys general had sued under Section 7 of the Clayton Act.
When JetBlue abandoned the merger, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland claimed the deal "would have caused tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer choices." But Duffy countered that a deeper look would have shown the merger benefited customers. "He still said no to it," Duffy said.
Buttigieg responded on X with a pointed critique: "You can't lower gas prices by blurting out the names of a few Democrats." He added that the administration should stop its "crazed policies that cause so much economic pain" and blamed President Trump's policies for doubling jet fuel prices, which he said drove Spirit out of business.
Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 and again in 2025, citing rising fuel costs. According to Reuters, the carrier's court filings pointed to a spike in jet fuel prices amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as Iranian military restrictions on Strait of Hormuz shipping disrupted energy markets. The link between geopolitics and fuel costs has become a central point of contention.
The political blame game intensified as Neera Tanden, a former senior advisor to President Biden, questioned whether blocking the merger was the right move given Spirit's collapse. "Perhaps it was but any analysis must consider as part of the equation the loss to so many families to decide," she wrote on X. Later, she clarified that Trump's war was the primary killer but argued for a full assessment of evidence.
For more on the fallout, read our coverage of Spirit Airlines Collapse: Warren, Biden Blamed for Blocking Merger and the ongoing political blame game after refunds were completed. Meanwhile, Duffy has promised immediate gas price relief once the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
The dispute reflects broader tensions over antitrust enforcement and energy policy, with both sides accusing the other of neglecting consumer welfare in favor of ideological goals.
