President Donald Trump ordered an immediate review of diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring standards in aviation safety over the past four years on Thursday, less than 24 hours after a midair collision between a commercial airliner and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C.
The deadly crash sparked a late-night emergency response on Wednesday after a Black Hawk crashed into an American Airlines plane above the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Three Army soldiers were flying the helicopter, and 64 people were aboard the airplane.
All are presumed dead; no survivors were rescued from the freezing waters.
Following the incident, Trump blamed the Biden administration’s DEI policies for their potential role in the fatal crash. The president then ordered an investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the alleged link.
In a memo, Trump directed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau to “review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior four years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety.” These corrective steps include termination of any employees who are not qualified for the job.
The Senate confirmed Duffy to lead the Department of Transportation on Tuesday, and Trump appointed Rocheleau to temporarily lead the FAA on Thursday. The crash occurred on Duffy’s first day on the job.
“This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden administration,” which “egregiously rejected merit-based hiring,” the memo reads.
During the Biden and Obama administrations, the FAA hired people with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities for a wide range of positions and prioritized race-based assessments for screening applicants. Eleven Republican attorneys general, led by Kansas’s Kris Kobach, sent a letter to the FAA last February, warning that DEI practices could compromise passenger safety.
The American Airlines flight was carrying passengers from Wichita, Kan.
It is not immediately clear whether DEI played a factor in the collision. But according to a preliminary FAA report, the staffing at the DCA air control tower was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.” The report showed one air traffic controller was working two positions at the time of the crash, when there should have been two air traffic controllers monitoring the inbound flight.
Trump believes federal employees should be hired based on merit, not on race or other immutable characteristics. The memo is the president’s latest action that reflects that belief. It follows a previous executive order that formally prohibits DEI hiring practices within the FAA.
With the latest order, Trump seeks to “reverse concerning safety and personnel trends during the prior four years, instill an unwavering commitment to aviation safety, and ensure that all Americans fly with peace of mind.”
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 40 bodies had been recovered from the Potomac River next to the airport. No survivors are expected to be found, which would make this the deadliest air crash in the U.S. since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
“Sadly, there are no survivors,” Trump said in the White House briefing room earlier Thursday. He called Wednesday a “dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history.”
Trump criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, calling him a “disaster” for prioritizing diversity over competence in hiring.
The last major fatal crash involving a commercial airliner occurred near Buffalo, N.Y., where the plane crashed into a house. All 45 passengers and four crew members were killed aboard the flight. That incident came on February 12, 2009, shortly after Barack Obama took office.