No one knows what caused last night's tragic crash outside DCA.
Investigations are ongoing, and no one - not Donald Trump or anyone else - should be drawing conclusions until all the facts have been released.
But here is what we do know. (1/7)
On his first day in office, Donald Trump froze the hiring of federal employees—including air traffic controllers. (2/7)
whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
Also on January 20, Elon Musk pushed out the Chief of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Trump didn’t appoint an acting replacement until after last night’s crash. (3/7)
nypost.com/2025/01/30/us-…
On January 22, Aviation Security Advisory Committee members were told Trump was cutting members of all advisory committees in a “commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.” (4/7)
newrepublic.com/post/190934/tr…
Also on January 22, Trump fired the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard. (5/7)
apnews.com/article/coast-…
In June 2023, the United States Department of Transportation Inspector General found that 77% of air traffic control facilities critical to the industry's daily operations were short-staffed. (6/7)
oig.dot.gov/sites/default/…
FAA staffing shortages have been exacerbated by @HouseGOP's repeated near-shutdowns of the government and their refusal to fully fund critical government functions.
These programs were only funded because more Democrats than Republicans voted to prevent these shutdowns. (7/7)
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