In this Breitbart article, Sean Moran reports that National Review removed an opinion piece by former Trump transportation official Diana Furchtgott-Roth after questions were raised about an apparent undisclosed conflict of interest.
- Furchtgott-Roth served in Trump’s first administration as deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Transportation, where she was involved with a 2021 DOT report evaluating GPS backup and complementary Position, Navigation, and Timing technologies.
- That DOT report found that several vendors showed useful PNT performance, but said only NextNav demonstrated performance across all applicable use-case scenarios.
- Breitbart notes that Furchtgott-Roth previously praised the DOT research, which aligned with Trump’s 2020 executive order emphasizing the national and economic security risks of disrupted or manipulated GPS/PNT services.
- The article says Furchtgott-Roth now serves on the advisory board of Tern AI, a company operating in the GPS backup space.
- National Review published her April 28 op-ed criticizing NextNav’s FCC petition to modernize its 900 MHz spectrum licenses for a GPS backup and complement system.
- Breitbart reports that her op-ed framed the proposal as a UAE-linked giveaway through Fortress Investment Group and warned of disruption to American consumers.
- Tern AI had previously petitioned the FCC against NextNav’s proposal, making Furchtgott-Roth’s role with the company especially relevant to the controversy.
- The article also says Furchtgott-Roth cited tests from Plum Consulting and Neology, but did not disclose that those tests were funded by clients of her husband, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, a former FCC commissioner and consultant.
- National Review ultimately removed the op-ed, with the article link reportedly saying it was removed at the author’s request.
Read the full story: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/05/08/national-review-forced-to-remove-opinion-piece-over-potential-conflict/
