President Donald Trump signed an aviation safety memorandum on Jan. 30 to reverse hiring practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion agendas for air traffic controllers and other transportation officials.
“We are going to have the most competent people in the country in our control towers,” Trump said. “For an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest.”
The president reiterated during a morning briefing, and later while signing the memo, that the government will prioritize competence, and that all decisions will be made in a nondiscriminatory manner that ensures the person most qualified for the position is selected during the hiring process.
Newly confirmed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and freshly appointed Federal Aviation Administration acting chief Christopher Rocheleau are directed to review any hiring decisions and protocol changes that occurred over the previous four years.
Corrective action is ordered to “achieve uncompromised aviation safety” and could include the removal of unqualified individuals, according to the president’s memo.
His actions follow Wednesday night’s tragic mid-air crash in which a military helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight near Washington, killing three soldiers, 60 passengers, and four crew members.
“Incompetence might have played a role, but we’ll let you know that,” Trump said. “Obviously, that was something that should not have happened, and we’re not going to let it happen again.”
Emergency responders rushed to the scene in the icy Potomac River. The collision was described as a “very quick, rapid impact” by officials.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Jan. 30 that it was too early to determine a cause for the accident, that the so-called “black boxes” that record flight data have not been recovered, and that a preliminary report will be released within 30 days.
More details are trickling out, and victim names are expected to be released soon as the nation mourns those lost.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf told the president while handing him the order to sign that the new regulations are needed “in light of the damage done to aviation safety by the Biden administration’s DEI and woke policies.”
Trump reversed the questionnaire in 2018 during his first term in office.
