Trump admin spending millions to investigate if DEI is to blame for plane crashes

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05 June

In late January, just hours after the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in more than 20 years—and as families and the nation were still grieving—President Donald Trump, without evidence, blamed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for the crash that killed 67 people near Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

"Trump blamed former President Joe Biden’s administration for encouraging the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit workers 'who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative,'" the Associated Press reported. "He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and 'dwarfism.'"

The President provided no proof that unqualified air traffic controllers were to blame, or even that any air traffic controllers who were not qualified had been hired, although "he acknowledged that there was as yet no indication that air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport made any mistakes."

On the first day of his second term in office, Trump signed numerous executive orders, some focused on DEI, including one titled, "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing."

Now, the Trump administration's Department of Transportation, under Secretary Sean Duffy, is spending over $2 million to investigate whether DEI causes plane crashes.

The Atlantic's Isaac Stanley-Becker reports he has "obtained the 'scope of work' document" for the multi-million dollar investigation. That document "is marked 'privileged' and 'confidential' and has not been previously reported. It shows how the president’s musings—his accusations, he said at the time, were based on 'very strong opinions and ideas'—translate into taxpayer-funded government action."

It appears that Trump's baseless allegations likely will be determined to be just that.

"Contrary to what Trump may hope," Stanley-Becker reveals, "it’s not expected to find that programs aimed at ensuring representation for women and people of color are responsible for this year’s string of aviation disasters, including the January crash at Reagan airport, which killed 67 people and prompted Trump’s tirade against DEI."

"That determination, several air-traffic controllers told me, hardly required a multimillion-dollar probe."

Image via Reuters

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