Senator cautions that Republicans are careening U.S. towards critical DoD, Aviation safety failures 

WASHINGTON D.C. –Today, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, condemned House Republicans’ spectrum auction plan as they advance it to the House floor as part of their reconciliation bill. The senator’s latest warning that the plan could jeopardize U.S. national defense and aviation safety systems came following a Trump social media post yesterday insisting the Republican majority auction 600 MHz regardless of concerns.

“National Security and Defense Republicans and Democrats were adamant last year that DoD spectrum couldn’t be given away because of the national security implications,” Sen. Cantwell said. “The House plan to sell 600 MHz of spectrum would punch a gaping hole in our defenses. The last time the Trump Administration rushed a spectrum auction, it fumbled badly, triggering 5G interference that grounded flights and jeopardized critical DoD systems. We can’t afford a replay of those failures.”? 

Yesterday, Trump posted this on his truth social platform:

Earlier this month, Sen. Cantwell wrote to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, urging them to protect critical spectrum bands used for national defense and aviation safety.

More recently, senior Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Sens. Mike Rounds and Deb Fischer, who have long guarded spectrum bands used for military activities, have voiced serious concerns about the consequences of the House spectrum auction plan.

During his confirmation hearing, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe warned that the Department of Defense and the intelligence community would face “national security implications from such an auction.”

“There are national security implications from such an auction were it to take place to both the DoD and the [Intelligence Community]… but I think we need to be concerned that a public auction at bands at certain levels would have an impact on our ability to deliver an accurate intelligence picture to the Commander-in-chief,” he said.

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