Image: Shutterstock
January 31, 2025
ALTERNET
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump's administration offered millions of federal workers seven months of pay in advance if they quit their jobs. Days later, a mid-air collision between a regional jet and a military helicopter killed dozens outside the Washington D.C. National Airport. One senator thinks the two events may be related.
Politico reported Thursday evening that the deadly Wednesday night crash above the Potomac River that killed 60 American Airlines passengers and four crew members along with three U.S. Army pilots in a Black Hawk helicopter has lawmakers and aviation officials demanding answers. During a Thursday press conference, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board promised to fully investigate the crash to determine what caused the fatal error, though they cautioned it could take a year or more before their investigation is complete.
The New York Times reported earlier Thursday that the air traffic controller who was on duty at the time of the crash was performing duties normally done by two controllers, and that staffing levels were "not normal" on Wednesday night. And Politico reported that airports across the country have had a critical shortage of air traffic controllers for years, mostly due to a lack of funding appropriated by Congress for hiring and training new airport control tower workers. According to the Times, many air traffic controllers work six days a week for as much as 10 hours per day.
But Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) — an Iraq War veteran who used to pilot a Black Hawk helicopter — suggested that morale among federal employees being lower than usual due to the Trump administration's recent buyout offer letter could have also been a contributing factor. She also blasted Trump for his assertion that diversity, equity and inclusion-based hiring practices under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were to blame.
"Obviously, you’re relying on air traffic control," Duckworth said. She noted that both Federal Aviation Administration officials and air traffic controllers were among those who received emails from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to consider leaving their jobs.
"[Letters were sent to] some air traffic controllers that are responsible for airspace in the Northeast region,” she continued, “Basically trying to scare them into quitting at a time when we have a shortage of air traffic controllers. So I don’t think the Trump administration is in a strong position right now to start blaming others.”
“This should’ve never happened, and we wanna understand what happened,” said Senate Commerce Committee member Ted Budd (R-N.C.)
Click here to read Politico's report in full.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump's administration offered millions of federal workers seven months of pay in advance if they quit their jobs. Days later, a mid-air collision between a regional jet and a military helicopter killed dozens outside the Washington D.C. National Airport. One senator thinks the two events may be related.
Politico reported Thursday evening that the deadly Wednesday night crash above the Potomac River that killed 60 American Airlines passengers and four crew members along with three U.S. Army pilots in a Black Hawk helicopter has lawmakers and aviation officials demanding answers. During a Thursday press conference, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board promised to fully investigate the crash to determine what caused the fatal error, though they cautioned it could take a year or more before their investigation is complete.
The New York Times reported earlier Thursday that the air traffic controller who was on duty at the time of the crash was performing duties normally done by two controllers, and that staffing levels were "not normal" on Wednesday night. And Politico reported that airports across the country have had a critical shortage of air traffic controllers for years, mostly due to a lack of funding appropriated by Congress for hiring and training new airport control tower workers. According to the Times, many air traffic controllers work six days a week for as much as 10 hours per day.
But Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) — an Iraq War veteran who used to pilot a Black Hawk helicopter — suggested that morale among federal employees being lower than usual due to the Trump administration's recent buyout offer letter could have also been a contributing factor. She also blasted Trump for his assertion that diversity, equity and inclusion-based hiring practices under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were to blame.
"Obviously, you’re relying on air traffic control," Duckworth said. She noted that both Federal Aviation Administration officials and air traffic controllers were among those who received emails from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to consider leaving their jobs.
"[Letters were sent to] some air traffic controllers that are responsible for airspace in the Northeast region,” she continued, “Basically trying to scare them into quitting at a time when we have a shortage of air traffic controllers. So I don’t think the Trump administration is in a strong position right now to start blaming others.”
“This should’ve never happened, and we wanna understand what happened,” said Senate Commerce Committee member Ted Budd (R-N.C.)
Click here to read Politico's report in full.
New Trump memo claims DEI, Obama and Biden 'decisions' linked to fatal aviation disaster
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
One Federal Aviation Administration traffic controller was assigned to both helicopters and planes when the deadly collision occurred, the FAA stated in a report.
“The report, reviewed by The New York Times, said that one controller was communicating with both helicopters and planes. Those jobs are typically assigned to two people, not one,” The Times reported. “Staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was ‘not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,’ according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report about the collision that was reviewed by The New York Times.”
Staffing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport “has been understaffed for years,” and “nearly a third below targeted staff levels,” The Times reports, citing “years of employee turnover and tight budgets.”
Calling the deadly collision a “shocking event” Trump’s memo says it “follows problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”
A CNN fact check found that a congressional law from 1973 “aimed to increase federal hiring of qualified people with disabilities.”
“The Obama Administration implemented a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude,” Trump’s memo alleges. He claimed “the Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous ‘diversity equity and inclusion’ tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities in the FAA.”
The memo claims, “During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence,” but a CNN fact check reveals that “Trump’s FAA used the same language about hiring people with disabilities [that] he’s now blasting.”
“During his Thursday press conference,” CNN reported, “President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested there was a link between the tragedy and diversity hiring policies at the Federal Aviation Administration.”
“It’s most important to note that Trump provided no evidence whatsoever that there was any such connection. But it’s also worth noting that some of Trump’s specific assertions about the FAA’s push to hire people with disabilities were either inaccurate or missing critical context about what happened during Trump’s own first presidency.”
Political strategist Donna Brazile noted, “Without an investigation or the recovery of all of the souls that have fallen, Trump inflicts partisan damage without proof or evidence.”
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
January 31, 2025
ALTERNET
President Donald Trump continued his attacks on his Democratic predecessors and diversity programs late Thursday afternoon, signing a presidential memo that linked “decisions” made by Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s administrations, and DEI initiatives, to Wednesday’s mid-air collision between an Army helicopter and a regional commercial airplane. The President’s memo offers no practical evidence they played a role. Sixty-seven people are believed to have died, and no one is believed to have survived.
Trump’s memo orders “a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden Administration.”
Axios reports that the “order shows Trump is doubling down on his claim, without evidence, that DEI policies were a factor in the crash. His memo explicitly mentions ‘diversity equity and inclusion,’ and reflects how anti-DEI efforts are a centerpiece of his second administration’s policy.”
Critics, including U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), say the incident took place on Trump’s watch, after he allowed the head of the FAA to reportedly resign under pressure, and gutted a critical aviation safety group Trump also just fired the head of the TSA, and placed a hiring freeze on nearly all government positions.
President Donald Trump continued his attacks on his Democratic predecessors and diversity programs late Thursday afternoon, signing a presidential memo that linked “decisions” made by Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s administrations, and DEI initiatives, to Wednesday’s mid-air collision between an Army helicopter and a regional commercial airplane. The President’s memo offers no practical evidence they played a role. Sixty-seven people are believed to have died, and no one is believed to have survived.
Trump’s memo orders “a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden Administration.”
Axios reports that the “order shows Trump is doubling down on his claim, without evidence, that DEI policies were a factor in the crash. His memo explicitly mentions ‘diversity equity and inclusion,’ and reflects how anti-DEI efforts are a centerpiece of his second administration’s policy.”
Critics, including U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), say the incident took place on Trump’s watch, after he allowed the head of the FAA to reportedly resign under pressure, and gutted a critical aviation safety group Trump also just fired the head of the TSA, and placed a hiring freeze on nearly all government positions.
One Federal Aviation Administration traffic controller was assigned to both helicopters and planes when the deadly collision occurred, the FAA stated in a report.
“The report, reviewed by The New York Times, said that one controller was communicating with both helicopters and planes. Those jobs are typically assigned to two people, not one,” The Times reported. “Staffing at the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport was ‘not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,’ according to an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration safety report about the collision that was reviewed by The New York Times.”
Staffing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport “has been understaffed for years,” and “nearly a third below targeted staff levels,” The Times reports, citing “years of employee turnover and tight budgets.”
Calling the deadly collision a “shocking event” Trump’s memo says it “follows problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”
A CNN fact check found that a congressional law from 1973 “aimed to increase federal hiring of qualified people with disabilities.”
“The Obama Administration implemented a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude,” Trump’s memo alleges. He claimed “the Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous ‘diversity equity and inclusion’ tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities in the FAA.”
The memo claims, “During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence,” but a CNN fact check reveals that “Trump’s FAA used the same language about hiring people with disabilities [that] he’s now blasting.”
“During his Thursday press conference,” CNN reported, “President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested there was a link between the tragedy and diversity hiring policies at the Federal Aviation Administration.”
“It’s most important to note that Trump provided no evidence whatsoever that there was any such connection. But it’s also worth noting that some of Trump’s specific assertions about the FAA’s push to hire people with disabilities were either inaccurate or missing critical context about what happened during Trump’s own first presidency.”
Political strategist Donna Brazile noted, “Without an investigation or the recovery of all of the souls that have fallen, Trump inflicts partisan damage without proof or evidence.”
'Sickening': Senator says Trump’s DEI 'blame game' means he’s 'afraid to answer questions'
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
January 30, 2025
ALTERNET
Less than 24 hours after a mid-air collision at the Washington D.C. National Airport killed as many as 67 people, President Donald Trump argued that tragedy was the result of is predecessors' hiring practices. One Democratic U.S. senator called his argument "sickening."
From the White House briefing room, Trump asserted without evidence that diversity, equity and inclusion policies, or DEI, under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were the main contributor to the crash. During a Thursday interview on MSNBC, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told host Chris Jansing that Trump's comments were "sickening" and "turned [his] stomach." He also suggested that Trump may be hoping to distract the media from one of his actions that could have contributed to the crash.
"Imagine you're a you're a family member and you're grieving the loss of a family member. And you have the president of the United States telling you that your loved one was killed because of DEI, when he has zero evidence — and I mean zero, I mean less than zero — to suggest that that's true," Kaine said. "It's been reported today that President Trump scrapped an aviation safety board that was advising the [Department of Homeland Security] on January 22nd, maybe he wanted to change the subject and not have to answer questions about why he did that."
READ MORE: '67 people are dead': Aviation reporter rips Trump's 'inconsiderate' and 'frankly unhinged' presser
As Kaine mentioned, Trump fired every member of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee on January 22, along with the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard. In the memo announcing the firings, the Trump White House wrote that the firings of advisory committee members were part of his "commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that D.H.S. activities prioritize our national security."
According to the New Republic, the Aviation Security Advisory Committee was established more than 30 years ago after the PanAm Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The outlet reported that virtually all of the committee's recommendations had been incorporated into federal aviation safety standards, and that the committee had been out of commission for more than a week at the time of the crash.
"There was not an there was not a [Federal Aviation Administration] administrator named, okay. He's named somebody today. Great. But his decision to instead of comfort grieving families, start to play a blame game is really sickening," he continued. "And maybe there's something that he doesn't want to have the public pay attention to."
Watch the video of Sen. Kaine's comments below, or by clicking this link.
Less than 24 hours after a mid-air collision at the Washington D.C. National Airport killed as many as 67 people, President Donald Trump argued that tragedy was the result of is predecessors' hiring practices. One Democratic U.S. senator called his argument "sickening."
From the White House briefing room, Trump asserted without evidence that diversity, equity and inclusion policies, or DEI, under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were the main contributor to the crash. During a Thursday interview on MSNBC, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told host Chris Jansing that Trump's comments were "sickening" and "turned [his] stomach." He also suggested that Trump may be hoping to distract the media from one of his actions that could have contributed to the crash.
"Imagine you're a you're a family member and you're grieving the loss of a family member. And you have the president of the United States telling you that your loved one was killed because of DEI, when he has zero evidence — and I mean zero, I mean less than zero — to suggest that that's true," Kaine said. "It's been reported today that President Trump scrapped an aviation safety board that was advising the [Department of Homeland Security] on January 22nd, maybe he wanted to change the subject and not have to answer questions about why he did that."
READ MORE: '67 people are dead': Aviation reporter rips Trump's 'inconsiderate' and 'frankly unhinged' presser
As Kaine mentioned, Trump fired every member of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee on January 22, along with the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard. In the memo announcing the firings, the Trump White House wrote that the firings of advisory committee members were part of his "commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that D.H.S. activities prioritize our national security."
According to the New Republic, the Aviation Security Advisory Committee was established more than 30 years ago after the PanAm Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The outlet reported that virtually all of the committee's recommendations had been incorporated into federal aviation safety standards, and that the committee had been out of commission for more than a week at the time of the crash.
"There was not an there was not a [Federal Aviation Administration] administrator named, okay. He's named somebody today. Great. But his decision to instead of comfort grieving families, start to play a blame game is really sickening," he continued. "And maybe there's something that he doesn't want to have the public pay attention to."
Watch the video of Sen. Kaine's comments below, or by clicking this link.
'Heinous personality': Internet unleashes on 'psychopath' Trump after he jokes about crash
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while signing executive orders during a brief event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
"Absolutely no empathy at all," TV actor and writer Jean-Marcos González posted to X.
Attorney Chase Madar lamented that Americans were "in for another four years of this s—." Author and artist Oisín McGann responded to the video of Trump's comments by writing: "Okay, so he's a psychopath." And actor Nazarin Nour tweeted that she "hate[s] this f—ing idiot."
"People’s loved ones died in that water, children included, and he makes a joke," Nour wrote.
'67 people are dead': Aviation reporter rips Trump’s 'inconsiderate' and 'frankly unhinged' presser
Image via Screengrab / CNN
Alex Henderson
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while signing executive orders during a brief event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
January 30, 2025
ALTERNET
Before all the bodies of the 67 people killed in a mid-air collision Wednesday night have even been recovered, President Donald Trump made a quip about the tragedy. One comment Trump recently made from the Oval Office resulted in anger and outrage on social media.
On Thursday evening, while taking questions from reporters from the Resolute Desk, Trump demurred from answering questions about whether he would meet with victims' families. But in one exchange, he suggested to a reporter that he didn't plan to visit the site of the crash, which happened above the Potomac River, because he didn't want to "go swimming."
"I have a plan to visit — not the site, because, you tell me, what's the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?" Trump said. "I don't have a plan to do that, but I will be meeting with some people that were very badly hurt — with their family member, obviously."
Pennsylvania Capital-Star correspondent Nick Field theorized that because the fatal plane crash took up the bulk of TV news coverage on Thursday, Trump was "p—d" and "had to rectify that by putting his heinous personality on display and stealing attention." Writer and comedian Akilah Hughes wrote on Bluesky: "Wow. What a piece of s—."
Before all the bodies of the 67 people killed in a mid-air collision Wednesday night have even been recovered, President Donald Trump made a quip about the tragedy. One comment Trump recently made from the Oval Office resulted in anger and outrage on social media.
On Thursday evening, while taking questions from reporters from the Resolute Desk, Trump demurred from answering questions about whether he would meet with victims' families. But in one exchange, he suggested to a reporter that he didn't plan to visit the site of the crash, which happened above the Potomac River, because he didn't want to "go swimming."
"I have a plan to visit — not the site, because, you tell me, what's the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?" Trump said. "I don't have a plan to do that, but I will be meeting with some people that were very badly hurt — with their family member, obviously."
Pennsylvania Capital-Star correspondent Nick Field theorized that because the fatal plane crash took up the bulk of TV news coverage on Thursday, Trump was "p—d" and "had to rectify that by putting his heinous personality on display and stealing attention." Writer and comedian Akilah Hughes wrote on Bluesky: "Wow. What a piece of s—."
"Absolutely no empathy at all," TV actor and writer Jean-Marcos González posted to X.
Attorney Chase Madar lamented that Americans were "in for another four years of this s—." Author and artist Oisín McGann responded to the video of Trump's comments by writing: "Okay, so he's a psychopath." And actor Nazarin Nour tweeted that she "hate[s] this f—ing idiot."
"People’s loved ones died in that water, children included, and he makes a joke," Nour wrote.
'67 people are dead': Aviation reporter rips Trump’s 'inconsiderate' and 'frankly unhinged' presser
Image via Screengrab / CNN
Alex Henderson
January 30, 2025
ALTERNET
After an air collision between a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet occurred outside Washington, DC, some MAGA Republicans — including President Donald Trump and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) — were quick to blame DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs for the tragedy.
Ogles blamed DEI during a conversation with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, and Trump attacked DEI during a press conference on Thursday.
But aviation expert Pete Muntean called out Trump's comments as ridiculous during a conversation on CNN.
When CNN's Pamela Brown asked him if DEI policies at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were "to blame" for the collision, Muntean replied, with frustration, "I put my head in my hands, Pam. when the president said that. This is something that has been pushed by the far right for a few months now: that die policies are to blame and a degradation in safety in aviation in the United States. But frankly, the president is getting out ahead of his skis here."
Muntean continued, "What he has said is not only unprofessional, unpresidential, inconsiderate of the status of this investigation, but frankly, it is just unhinged that he could even say, with any sort of certainty, that diversity, equity and inclusion policies had any part to play in this accident."
Muntean grew even angrier when he described the likely death toll in the collision. Officials believe that neither the 64 passengers on the American Airlines flight nor the three people on the Blackhawk helicopter survived.
Muntean told Brown, "Sixty-seven people are dead. I hate to get so upset here, but this is something that investigators will really need to pick apart piece by piece. And that is going to take some really significant time. We're not even 24 hours after this crash. We're barely even 12 hours after this crash. And he is saying, with a lot of certainty, that the blame is on DEI and the blame is, in some ways, on air traffic control and air traffic controller hiring."
The aviation expert continued, "I have to feel for the air traffic controllers in the tower at Reagan National Airport, who had to essentially sit there helplessly and make the call to first responders to say, 'We have a serious aircraft crash.'"
Watch the full video below or at this link.
After an air collision between a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet occurred outside Washington, DC, some MAGA Republicans — including President Donald Trump and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) — were quick to blame DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs for the tragedy.
Ogles blamed DEI during a conversation with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, and Trump attacked DEI during a press conference on Thursday.
But aviation expert Pete Muntean called out Trump's comments as ridiculous during a conversation on CNN.
When CNN's Pamela Brown asked him if DEI policies at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were "to blame" for the collision, Muntean replied, with frustration, "I put my head in my hands, Pam. when the president said that. This is something that has been pushed by the far right for a few months now: that die policies are to blame and a degradation in safety in aviation in the United States. But frankly, the president is getting out ahead of his skis here."
Muntean continued, "What he has said is not only unprofessional, unpresidential, inconsiderate of the status of this investigation, but frankly, it is just unhinged that he could even say, with any sort of certainty, that diversity, equity and inclusion policies had any part to play in this accident."
Muntean grew even angrier when he described the likely death toll in the collision. Officials believe that neither the 64 passengers on the American Airlines flight nor the three people on the Blackhawk helicopter survived.
Muntean told Brown, "Sixty-seven people are dead. I hate to get so upset here, but this is something that investigators will really need to pick apart piece by piece. And that is going to take some really significant time. We're not even 24 hours after this crash. We're barely even 12 hours after this crash. And he is saying, with a lot of certainty, that the blame is on DEI and the blame is, in some ways, on air traffic control and air traffic controller hiring."
The aviation expert continued, "I have to feel for the air traffic controllers in the tower at Reagan National Airport, who had to essentially sit there helplessly and make the call to first responders to say, 'We have a serious aircraft crash.'"
Watch the full video below or at this link.
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