Crockett Calls Out President Trump’s Lies About Cause of Tragic Flight Crash

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) released the following statement after news that a passenger plane, American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, collided midair with an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport last night.

“I first want to express my deepest condolences to all the families and friends who have been impacted by last night’s tragedy. My heart is with you right now.

“As emergency responders continue to work to retrieve peoples’ loved ones from the site of the accident, our President—a man who is supposed to unify the country in times of tragedy—has instead used this moment to exploit their pain and grief to promote his political agenda.

“During today’s White House briefing on the accident, Donald Trump, without any evidence, blamed the increased recruitment of diverse employees in our aviation system as the reason for this tragic crash. Let me be clear: Donald Trump has no evidence for these claims. But in a post-truth Republican world, evidence doesn’t matter to Donald Trump: all that matters is how tragedy can be used to benefit his party and his career.

“Right now, investigations into the causes of this tragedy are in the very early stages—there is a lot we don’t know. But here is what we do know:

• On his first day in office, Donald Trump froze the hiring of federal employees—including air traffic controllers.
• Elon Musk pushed out the Chief of the Federal Aviation Administration on the same day, and Trump didn’t appoint an acting replacement until after last night’s crash.
• On Tuesday, January 22, the Aviation Security Advisory Committee’s members received a memo from the Trump administration saying that the Department of Homeland Security was getting rid of the membership of all advisory committees in a “commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.” At the same time, Trump also fired the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard.
• 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, a problem exacerbated by House Republicans’ repeated near-shutdowns of the federal 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.
• Despite repeated Republican lies about White aviation professionals being blocked from the workforce, federal government data compiled by Data USA found that 73% of air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists surveyed identified as White, of which 18.6% were women and 81.4% men.

“Given these facts, I suggest that President Trump stop playing political games, end his attempts to freeze funding for our federal workforce, and focus on attracting and hiring qualified, experienced aviation professionals to safeguard our skies and save passenger lives.  And importantly, I suggest he show some decency and respect for the people grieving their lost loved ones – it is literally the very least he can do. ”