Not a Brain Fart: Blaming DEI for Air Disaster is Official

As if things couldn’t get even more depressing here in Washington DC, the mid-air collision between a military helicopter and a commuter jet was pretty much the nail in the coffin. Wake me up in 4 years.

But things aren’t that easy. Cryogenics is still too expensive for retirees on a fixed income. So we have to deal.

In case you haven’t been following the news closely,  Donald Trump blamed DEI (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) policies on the crash that killed 67 people the other night.  When a reporter challenged him, asking if he had any facts to back up his accusations, Trump responded “I have common sense, OK, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t. We want brilliant people to do this.”

Not a Brain Fart

And if you thought this was yet another of Trump’s random brain farts that would dissipate in the wind, it wasn’t. Immediately after Trump’s statement, the White House issued a “MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION”   where Trump officially, in writing,  claimed that

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).  The Obama Administration implemented a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude.  During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence.  But the Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous “diversity equity and inclusion” tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with “severe intellectual” disabilities in the FAA.

On my second day in office, I ordered an immediate return to merit-based recruitment, hiring, and promotion, elevating safety and ability as the paramount standard.  Yesterday’s devastating accident tragically underscores the need to elevate safety and competence as the priority of the FAA.

The memorandum called on the Department of Transportation to “review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior 4 years, and to take such corrective action review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior 4 years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards.”

Well I guess all that makes it official. Only healthy white men can be air traffic controllers. Get rid of everyone else. 

Well I guess all that makes it official.  Only healthy white men can be air traffic controllers. Get rid of everyone else. Investigation be damned.  NTSB investigators can go back to bed.

What Would Fox Say?

Obviously, we don’t know all of the causes of the disaster. But if I were Fox News, and this happened under a Democratic administration, I might point out that

1. The President just ordered a federal hiring freeze which included air-traffic controllers. On January 22, days before the crash, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Aviation Steve Cohen (D-TN) released a statement reminding Trump that

“The bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 directs the Administration to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers. That’s what the law says, so the Administration must rescind this ridiculous executive order. Hiring air traffic controllers is the number one safety issue according to the entire aviation industry. Instead of working to improve aviation safety and lower costs for hardworking American families, the Administration is choosing to spread bogus DEI claims to justify this decision. I’m not surprised by the President’s dangerous and divisive actions, but the Administration must reverse course. Let’s get back to aviation safety and allow the FAA to do its job protecting the flying public.”

“Our top priority must be the safety of the flying public so an order freezing the hiring of air traffic controllers is a misguided decision and goes against the directives of our FAA Reauthorization bill,” Ranking Member Cohen said.

2. The diversity policies he complained about were in effect throughout his entire first Presidency, but didn’t seem to bother him then. But those policies  do not apply to air traffic control hiring, though — no one is given preferential treatment for race, sex, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Applicants must pass a medical exam, an aptitude test and a psychological test that is more stringent than that required of a pilot. According to the FAA, the training process lasts about three to four years from the hire date.

3. The Federal Aviation Administration’s director, Michael Whitaker,  resigned on Jan. 20, months after Elon Musk demanded that he quit. No one was appointed to be acting director until after the crash. Musk had complained about Whitaker and the FAA, after the agency imposed $600,000 in fines on SpaceX related to missions launched with unapproved changes. Musk accused the agency of “harassing SpaceX about nonsense.” Musk posted on his social media site in September that Whitaker “needs to resign.”

Stay tuned for what fresh hell tomorrow brings.  Meanwhile, a good bottle of bourbon awaits….