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Trump and American Eagle Flight 5342 [1]

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Date: 2025-01-30

This isn't my normal rip apart one of Trump's Truth Social posts. People have died.

Trump can't be blamed for the accident, but he was on his way to make sure that more accidents would happen.

In March of 2023, Republicans were still trying to thwart Biden getting a permanent head of the FAA. His name was Phil Washington, a Black man. The Republicans criticized the nomination for the man's lack of experience when had been dealing with transportation since 2009. He was also a 24 year Army veteran. He was CEO of the Denver International Airport, and been so since 2021. Biden had nominated him 7 months earlier. He apparently wasn't squeaky clean, as he had been named in a search warrant into political corruption in Los Angeles, but that was it. Washington withdrew his nomination on March 23rd, 2023 to give Biden a chance to get a permanent hire. I don't want to be flippant, but the Republicans were pulling their typical DEI hire stunt.

The acting FAA administrator was Billy Nolan, also a Black man. Acting because of, again, Republican opposition to his confirmation.

In April of 2023 Republicans were warned that further budget cuts to the FAA's budget would cause more travel snags and interruptions. The debt limit bill in question would furlough all of the FAA workforce, and eliminate 10% permanently. 125 control towers and 250 federal contract towers would be shutdown. Two-thirds of US airspace would be without coverage. It also meant a shutdown of training academies for air traffic controllers.

These are the games Republicans play with our safety to save a buck.

Biden finally got a permanent head with Michael Whittaker in October of 2023. He just happens to be white. It was a 98-0 vote. The post had been vacant for 19 months.

During the Biden administration, there were many attempts to direct funding to hiring more air traffic controllers. In May of last year, Biden succeeded. At the time, there were 1000 fewer air traffic controllers than in 2012.

In September of 2024, the FAA announced that they had met their goal of hiring 1800 new controllers. There were 3,400 at various stages of training. Things were finally heading in the right direction for air safety.

Then Donald Trump got elected. Whittaker announced last December that he would be stepping down, letting Trump nominate his replacement. He left the day of Trump's inauguration.

The FAA's website lists the positions of administrator and deputy administrator as "vacant" as of this morning. However, Chris Rocheleau was sworn in on Jan. 21, as Deputy Administrator and is probably the acting Administrator until that job is filled.

On January 22, Donald Trump issued a declaration titled, "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Ends DEI Madness And Restores Excellence And Safety Within The Federal Aviation Administration."

It's exactly what you're thinking. "Stop Biden DEI hiring programs, and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring."

The FAA Administrator has to review all performance of employees in safety positions.

"Almost unbelievably, as a diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) initiative, the Biden FAA specifically recruited and hired individuals with severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric issues, and complete paralysis over other individuals who sought to work for the FAA."

Trump's fact sheet only runs one page, but it all says the same thing.

Here's the thing, it was during Trump's administration, the FAA noted on April 11, 2019, that a program started to hire people with disabilities. They were only planning on hiring 20 people. I can neither find out whether this program was continued, or was terminated during the Biden administration. The claim that Biden created the program, or had one running through his administration, is not verifiable.

Now that you've got all the background, this brings us to yesterday's tragedy.

Nothing is currently known about how the American Eagle flight and the Blackhawk helicopter came into the same flight path. All are assumed killed in the accident, and now it's a recovery operation to get all the pieces of each craft to help determine the cause. Hopefully the airplane's Black Box recorders will be recovered and the data examinable. Blackhawk helicopters also have flight recorders.

This was a time that Donald Trump should have simply said, "My thoughts and prayers for those who perished," and left it at that. Especially, until more information was available. He didn't.

He's ready to blame the traffic controllers in the tower, the pilot of the airplane and the pilot of the helicopter.

This is what people in social media across the world could be ruminating about. But not the President of the United States. I don't need to say any more.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/30/2300142/-Trump-and-American-Eagle-Flight-5342?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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