Recovery efforts were still underway in the Potomac River when Trump gave a press conference to speculate about how the Biden administration and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies had weakened safety protocols around air traffic control.

Trump railed against “Obama, Biden and the Democrats,” saying “their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse.”

He also singled out former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

• “Do you know how badly everything has run since he's run the Department of Transportation?" Trump said. "He's a disaster...he's just got a good line of bulls---."

• Buttigieg responded over X: “Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying.”

Trump went on to blame “diversity hiring” for the crash, while admitting there hasn’t been enough time yet to fully investigate.

•“ We did not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we’ll probably state those opinions now,” he said.

• When asked by a reporter how he determined diversity hiring was responsible for the crash before an investigation had been conducted, Trump said: “Because I have common sense and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) blasted the remarks:

"Bodies are still being pulled from the Potomac," he posted on X. "The President and extreme MAGA Republicans are blaming women and people of color for the deadly plane crash. At the same time, they are dismantling the Federal Aviation Administration as we know it. Disgusting.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Trump’s “idle speculation ... just turns your stomach.”

GOP lawmakers also signaled they were caught off guard by the president's remarks.

“I don’t know what DEI would have to do with it, but shortages of air traffic controllers, certain protocols that were being done at the airport,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told The Hill.

"This is pretty fresh," Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said, pointing to the NTSB when asked to weigh in on Trump’s latest comments.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order saying the Transportation secretary and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator must “immediately stop Biden DEI hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring.”

DETAILS

American Eagle Flight 5342 out of Wichita collided with a Black Hawk helicopter upon descent into DCA in what was the first fatal crash of a commercial airline jet in the U.S. since 2009.

• The 60 passengers and four crew members aboard the plane are believed to be dead. Figure skaters returning from the National Development Camp in Kansas were among the passengers on the flight.

• Three Army soldiers — a captain, staff sergeant and chief warrant officer — died in the helicopter.

• The hundreds of emergency responders that launched search-and-rescue operations are now at work recovering bodies of the victims.

Trump suggested the helicopter crew could be at fault.

“You could have turned the helicopter substantially, you could have stopped the helicopter,” he said. “For some reason it just kept going and then made a slight turn at the very end and by that time, it was too late.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: “It was a fairly experienced crew. It’s a tragedy, a horrible loss of life.”

Hegseth grounded the Army battalion involved in the operation of the Black Hawk helicopter for 48 hours as investigations get underway.

FAA ADMINISTRATOR POST WAS VACANT

Trump on Thursday appointed Christopher Rocheleau, a 22-year veteran of the agency, as acting administrator for the FAA.

Former FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, who was confirmed........

© The Hill