Republicans Sidestep — Or Even Agree With — Trump Blaming DCA Plane Crash on DEI Policies

“I want my pilot, I want my [Air Traffic Control] person, to be based upon merit,” Sen. Roger Marshall said.

President Donald Trump listens to a question as he signs executive orders.

President Donald Trump listens to a question as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Evan Vucci/AP

After President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday, without evidence, that the Federal Aviation Administration’s diversity policies played a role in the collision between a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet, Republican senators were doing their best to find some wisdom in the president’s claim.

“The FAA diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities,” Trump said Thursday, while also lashing out at former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden — “Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first” — as well as Biden’s transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg.

“He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said of Buttigieg.