An aspiring air traffic controller who claims he was denied a job because of diversity targets said the aviation agency’s obsession with inclusion made an accident likely to happen.

President Donald Trump on Thursday blasted the Federal Aviation Administration's DEI standards at a press conference addressing Wednesday night's deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C.

A midair collision near D.C. has raised concerns over FAA staffing, prompting scrutiny of air traffic control and aviation safety oversight.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late on Thursday he will soon announce a plan to reform the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a devastating collision between an American Airlines regional plane and an Army helicopter killed 67 people.

While that office may be ready to go to work, the FAA itself is not fully on the job. That’s because it’s without an administrator. Michael Whitaker, who had led the administration since Oct., 2023, stepped down earlier this month,

The midair collision at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night has presented Sean Duffy with a major crisis just hours after he was sworn in as secretary of transportation.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy echoed Trump’s remarks about diversity programs, saying “only the best brightest” should hold federal aviation jobs. “We will not accept excuses,” Duffy said. “We will not accept passing the buck.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had been sworn in just hours before the deadly midair collision of a plane and helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Trump offered no evidence that diversity hiring practices contributed to the fatal plane and helicopter collision.

Mike Whitaker, unanimously confirmed as the FAA administrator in October 2023, stepped down early from his five-year term on Jan. 20 when Trump took office and for 10 days the FAA declined to say who was running the agency on an acting basis. Trump has not yet named a permanent candidate to replace Whitaker.

Facing his first crisis just two days into the job, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy touted reforms sought by the president, who has lambasted DEI policies.