FAA diversity hiring under renewed scrutiny after deadly DC air disaster
President Trump has ordered the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administrator to review hiring decisions and protocols after the deadly crash.
By Steven Richards
Published: January 31, 2025 11:03pm
Despite direct links between the air disaster in Washington, D.C. and federal hiring practices remaining unclear, the deadliest crash in 15 years has returned to the forefront of concerns about aviation industry safety, including past efforts to prioritize diversity over merit in the air traffic control profession.
After the crash, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump called out past efforts during the Obama and Biden Administrations to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) hiring practices, including for important air traffic control specialist roles, and issued an executive order requiring a review of government hiring in the industry.
“This shocking event follows problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),” Trump wrote in the order.
https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/faa-diversity-hiring-under-renewed-scrutiny-after-deadly-dc-air