Trump Suggests DEI Could Be To Blame For Fatal Mid-Air Collision Amid Ongoing Investigation

President Donald Trump suggested that the Department of Transportation’s hiring procedures might have contributed to a fatal mid-air collision involving a regional jet and a Black Hawk helicopter. He argued that both the Biden and Obama administrations had relaxed the standards for becoming an air traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration.

“They put a big push to put diversity into the FAA program,” he remarked.

Authorities reported that it is unlikely anyone aboard the helicopter or airplane survived the crash. At least 30 bodies have been recovered from the Potomac River, according to officials. The investigation into the cause of the crash is still in its early stages, with no official conclusions yet drawn. The National Transportation Safety Board is handling the inquiry, but as President Trump pointed out, these investigations can take months or even years to complete.

The identity of the air traffic controller involved remains unclear, and it is uncertain if human error played a role in the tragedy. In his statement, President Trump criticized the policies of the Biden and Obama administrations that encouraged the hiring of people with disabilities for government positions. He argued that this initiative was part of a broader diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda within the federal government, which he has worked to dismantle.

On July 26, 2010, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13548, directing that the federal government serve as a model for the employment of individuals with disabilities.

On Thursday, President Trump reiterated his previous comments, which included a harsh critique of the Federal Aviation Administration for hiring individuals with “severe intellectual disabilities.” “Brilliant people have to be in those positions,” he stated.

According to the FAA, individuals with severe intellectual, physical, or psychiatric disabilities are eligible for non-competitive appointments to FAA roles if they can prove they are “physically qualified to do the work without hazard to self or to others.”

During Trump’s first term, the FAA also launched a pilot program designed to prepare individuals with disabilities for careers in air traffic operations. The FAA explained in 2019 that “The candidates in this program will receive the same rigorous consideration in terms of aptitude, medical, and security qualifications as those individuals considered for a standard public opening for air traffic controller jobs. Participants in the program will receive up to one year of experience in an Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) with the potential to be appointed to a temporary ATCS position at the FAA Academy.”

{Matzav.com}