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President Donald Trump blames the previous administration’s DEI policies for the deadly mid-air collision that claimed 67 lives near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night.
Trump said the Biden administration based hiring on physical characteristics and sexuality rather than on skills or the best person for the job.
GOP lawmakers argued that the FAA rejected qualified candidates for air traffic controller jobs because they were white men.
During a press briefing at the White House on Thursday, Trump said former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama prioritized politics over safety.
Trump rails against FAA DEI practices: "The FAA's diversity and inclusion hiring plan says diversity is integral to ensuring safe and efficient travel. A group within the FAA determined the workforce was too White. They actually came out with a directive saying it's too White." pic.twitter.com/0QjK8DN6ks
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 30, 2025
Trump called out former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying he was a “disaster”.
“Do you know how badly everything’s run since he’s run the Dept. of Transportation? He’s a disaster… He’s just got a good line of bullsh*t”, Trump said of Buttigieg.
Trump said Buttigieg ran the FAA “right into the ground with his diversity.”
Trump: "'The FAA, which is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigeig' — a real winner. Do you know how badly everything has run since he's run the Department of Transportation. He's a disaster … he's got a good line of bullshit." pic.twitter.com/noklq85NeV
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2025
Trump also read an article quoting the FAA’s job qualifications for air traffic controller candidates.
“The FAA’s diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities — uh, that is amazing,” Trump said.
Trump continued, “FAA says people with severe disabilities are the most underrepresented segment of the work force and they want them in and… they can be air traffic controllers. I don’t think so.”
Trump: "I do want to point out that various articles that appeared prior to my entering office. Here's one — 'the FAA's diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.' That is amazing." pic.twitter.com/pRrmzDtWSu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2025
On his first day in office, Trump wrote an executive order terminating hundreds of federal DEI employees and dissolving their departments.
Trump’s comments about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) sparked an outcry in Washington, DC and on social media.
Lawmakers lashed out at Trump after his press briefing.
“I just watched President Trump’s news conference,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor.
“Listen, it’s one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracies, it’s another for the president of the United States to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered.”
Officials confirmed American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on approach to a runway at Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia at 8:48pm ET.
Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River after the mid-air collision. 60 passengers and four crew members were on board the passenger jet.
3 Army soldiers were conducting night training on the helicopter. There were no survivors.
30 bodies were pulled from the Potomac River overnight. Reagan Washington National Airport resumed flights on Thursday afternoon.