Administration ties
Data updated · v0.1.3
Ties to the Trump administration
Each documented point of contact between the company, its people, investors or lobbyists and the federal government — classed by type, including the critical ones.
Documented items
14
Every row cited
Money & contracts
4
Award, stake talks, PAC gifts
People & firms
4
Investors, lobbyists, one retired general
Oversight
2
Lawmakers’ letter, GAO request
| Date | Who | Type | What the record shows | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-22 | Department of Transportation / FAA | Contract award | Secretary Duffy and Administrator Bedford personally announced the FAA award, in a release headed with the president’s name. Twelve companies bid. | transportation.gov · nextgov.com |
| 2026-10-15 | Federal Aviation Administration | Equity negotiation | Politico reported, citing an internal FAA document, that the agency has a term sheet for an equity stake in ASI and is negotiating a warrant to buy shares at a set price. Not finalized; the term sheet is reported to expire at the end of 2026. | flyingmag.com · avweb.com · aerotime.aero · travelradar.aero |
| 2026-03-31 | Michael Alfonso (Duffy’s son-in-law) | PAC contribution | ASI’s PAC gave $2,500 to Alfonso’s House campaign about three months before the FAA award. The Bulwark and ProPublica found dozens of transportation-industry donors to the campaign. No public evidence links the gift to the award; ASI did not respond to The Bulwark. | fec.gov · thedailybeast.com · thebulwark.com · propublica.org |
| 2026 | House and Senate Republicans | PAC contribution | The PAC gave $51,500 through Oct. 14, 2026. Named recipients are Republicans, mostly appropriators, including Reps. Ken Calvert and Tom Cole. | fec.gov · citizenanalyst.ai · redrightbuyer.substack.com |
| 2026-06-22 | Phillip Buckendorf (CEO) | Public praise | In the DOT release Buckendorf credited President Trump, Duffy and Bedford with delivering on air traffic modernization. | transportation.gov |
| 2026-08-26 | Phillip Buckendorf (CEO) | Public praise | At a Breitbart News policy event he described the administration as tech-focused and moving faster than any before it. | breitbart.com |
| 2026-09-21 | Secretary Sean Duffy | Public defense | Duffy defended SMART against Rep. Beyer’s criticism on Fox News and later said air traffic controllers will always control the airspace. | commondreams.org · nextgov.com |
| 2026-11-14 | Secretary Sean Duffy | Public defense | After the nationwide ground stop Duffy said SMART was not the cause and blamed L3Harris’s telecom work instead. | cnn.com · ivn.us |
| 2023-12 | Andreessen Horowitz (investor) | Investor link | a16z led ASI’s Series B and joined the Series C. Former a16z managing partner Scott Kupor is OPM director, and former general partner Sriram Krishnan was a White House AI adviser until June 2026. | globenewswire.com · wilmerhale.com · fortune.com · therevolvingdoorproject.org |
| 2026-10-20 | Craft Ventures (investor) | Investor link | Craft Ventures, co-founded by David Sacks, joined the Series C. Sacks was White House AI and crypto czar from December 2024 and is reported to have left in March 2026, before the round. | wilmerhale.com · npr.org · angelinvestorsnetwork.com |
| 2025 | Venture Government Strategies | Lobbyist link | Outside lobbying firm (formerly Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures) reporting about $360,000 for ASI in 2025–26; contacts include the FAA, DOT, DoD and the Executive Office of the President. Its listed lobbyists include a former House member. | congress.wiki |
| 2025-04 | Leo Kosinski (executive) | Former officer hired | Kosinski retired as an Air Force lieutenant general after 31 years, including as Joint Staff director for logistics, and joined ASI in April 2025. His service spanned several administrations; this is a military, not a political, tie. | prnewswire.com · airspace-intelligence.com |
| 2026-10-09 | 25 Democratic lawmakers | Oversight | Asked the FAA to pause SMART until it shares safety testing, training and accountability details. No FAA reply had been found by Nov. 13. | airwaysmag.com · aerotime.aero · citizenanalyst.ai |
| 2026-10-13 | House T&I Committee Democrats | Oversight | Twenty-three members asked the GAO to review the FAA’s safety risk management for SMART and FMDS. | nextgov.com · fedscoop.com |