U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Bellevue, whose 9th District includes parts of Kent, criticized President Donald Trump for blaming diversity requirements at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the fatal collision Wednesday night, Jan. 29 between an Army helicopter and a jet that killed 67 people in Arlington, Virginia.
During a press briefing Thursday, Jan. 30 Trump’s remarks quickly became a diatribe against diversity hiring and his allegation — so far without evidence — that lowered standards were to blame for the crash, according to Associated Press. The plane and helicopter each ended up in the Potomac River.
Trump variously pointed the finger at the helicopter’s pilot, air traffic control, his predecessor, Joe Biden, and other Democrats including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom he labeled a “disaster,” according to the report. Buttigieg responded by calling Trump “despicable.”
The cause of the crash is still unknown, according to Associated Press. Authorities are investigating and have not publicly identified the cause or said who might have been responsible for the collision of an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army helicopter.
Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement Thursday, Jan. 30.
“As our country mourns this tragedy, I join millions of Americans in sending my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed in last night’s air disaster,” Smith said. “They and the first responders who braved freezing temperatures and extreme conditions are in my thoughts and prayers. I will continue doing everything that I can as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board and the United States Army so that we can use the facts of the matter to try and ensure similar tragedies are avoided.
“The magnitude of the loss of these 67 lives cannot be overstated, and it makes it all the more appalling that the President of the United States would choose to use this national tragedy to cynically push his political agenda ahead of any substantive investigation.
“By falling back on his catch-all excuses and blame game tirades, the president is impeding efforts to ascertain the true causes of this disaster and the steps that should be taken to prevent future tragedies. While we all crave immediate answers, we should give the National Transportation Safety Board time and space to conduct a rigorous investigation and let the facts drive our response. In addition, it is critical that we thoroughly examine the policies, procedures, training, and equipment decisions made by the Department of Defense to ensure that we are able to minimize preventable aviation tragedies. The president is not seeking to solve real problems by blaming DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) for this tragedy, and he is failing to lead at a time when we need it most.
“Of course, this is not the first time that President Trump has sought to callously take advantage of times of extreme trauma rather than take action to prevent future tragedies. We saw him do this after a terrorist attack in New Orleans and following the wildfires in California. It seems there is no end to the depths the president is willing to sink to justify the warped ideological warfare he continues to wage using the highest office in the land and regardless of the division, discord, and damage he causes.
“For the sake of the country, I urge the president to set aside his political games and work with Congress to ensure that we are able to do the job each of us has been elected to do, regardless of our political or personal ideologies.”
Smith’s 9th Congressional District includes Renton, Mercer Island, Tukwila, Des Moines, Federal Way and parts of Seattle, Bellevue, Kent and Auburn.
Reporters on Thursday challenged Trump’s claims, according to Associated Press.
Trump was asked repeatedly to explain why he was blaming federal diversity and inclusion promotion efforts for the crash, at one point alleging that previous leadership had determined that the Federal Aviation Administration workforce was “too white,” according to the article. He did not back up those claims, while also declaring it was still not clear the FAA or air traffic controllers were responsible for the crash.
A reporter asked Trump: “Are you saying this crash was somehow caused as the result of diversity hiring? And what evidence have you seen to support these claims?”
“It just could have been,” Trump said. “We have a high standard. We’ve had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower. You have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various, very powerful tests that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that seeks the exact opposite.
“So we don’t know. But we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened. And, we’ll see. We’re going to look into that, and we’re going to see. But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior. And that’s what we’re going to have.”
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