Midair Collision in D.C. Highlights Cracks in Buttigieg's DEI-Obsessed DOT
by Pat Droney
Law Enforcement today
Jul 25, 2025
In
this screengrab made from video, a Southwest Airlines plane and a
private jet are seen in a near miss incident at Chicago's Midway
International Airport on February 25. WASHINGTON, DC- When a catastrophic mid-air collision near Washington-Reagan National Airport occurred earlier this year,
and after a series of near-misses at airports on the ground and in the
skies, Democrats were quick to blame President Trump and the Department
of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for the incidents.
Now, according to The New York Post, we are learning the truth about what really happened.
According to spending records and airline
industry insiders, the Department of Transportation, under the
leadership of failed South Bend, Indiana, mayor and failed Democratic
presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, burned through tens of billions of
dollars on a DEI agenda while failing to replace outdated air traffic control systems during his tenure as Joe Biden’s transportation secretary.
In fact, industry sources said that
Buttigieg, who fancies himself a 2028 presidential contender, told them
that air traffic control upgrades would simply allow them to fly more
planes, “and so why would that be in his interest?”
Instead of investing taxpayer funds into what
some have called a nearly half-century-old air traffic control system
and hiring additional desperately needed air traffic controllers, the
DOT instead doled out over $80 billion in four years
for hundreds of diversity, equity and inclusion grants, which is about
half of the DOT’s entire budget for a fiscal year, financial records
showed.
“He was definitely pushing an agenda,”
an air industry official said, claiming that Buttigieg had “little to
no interest” and took “definitely zero action” toward modernizing the
antiquated air traffic control system.
Instead, Buttigieg spent most of his time,
The Post wrote, “vilifying” the airline industry, blaming the airlines
for flight delays, while maintaining that the department’s DEI obsession hadn’t led to any air traffic control staffing shortages nor had it failed to address the aging air traffic control system.
Sources told The Post that the ATC system hasn’t been upgraded since the Carter administration nearly 50 years ago.
Failure to safeguard the ATC system has been
putting the flying public in danger, with numerous near-misses,
including just last week when a Delta Airlines regional jet had to take evasive action to avoid a midair collision with an Air Force B-52 over North Dakota.
Insiders say the flying public has paid the price for Buttigieg’s lack of focus.
“At first, [the Department of Transportation]
and he were reluctant to say there was an air traffic controller
shortage or that the shortage had anything to do with flight delays or
flight cancellations,” the air industry official said.
A spokesman for Buttigieg denied those claims
and stated that there was an increase in air traffic control hiring
under his leadership, as well as software changes to improve efficiency
on airport runways.
The DOT also allegedly added new flight rules expected to cut up to 100 hours off travel time annually.
In 2022, Buttigieg was panned for bloviating about “racist highways.”
“There is racism physically built into some
of our highways,” Buttigieg claimed in 2021. He said that while pushing
for Biden’s #3 trillion Build Back Better monstrosity. The funding was
later included in another bill and directed $1 billion over five years
to “help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from
economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure.”
Despite Buttigieg blaming the airlines for flight delays that plagued the country in a post-pandemic world, DOT statistics show
that most flight cancellations (54%) were caused by weather, while just
over a third (34.7%) were attributed to air carriers. Overall, nearly
80% of airline flights operated on time.
Industry insiders admit that the hiring of
controllers has improved somewhat over the past couple of years, but
noted that there is a high dropout rate in the ATC academy, combined
with surging retirements from veteran air traffic controllers. Part of
the issue is that controllers cannot be over the age of 30 to be hired and have a mandatory retirement age of 56.
Industry insiders, however, claim that Buttigieg seemed less interested in fixing the ATC systems than “looking good on TV.”
The Post reports
that the FAA has faced chronic understaffing for years and has employed
only 80% of the target number of certified air traffic controllers
since at least 2017. That was the primary factor that forces delays and
cancellations of flights.
In an urgent letter to Buttigieg’s DOT in
April 2024, officials from within the airline industry urged him to step
up hiring, noting that at the current rate of hiring, it could take as
long as 90 years for the FAA to reach targeted staffing levels in some
New York area traffic control centers, among the busiest in the US.
During the Biden administration, the
Buttigieg-led DOT approved over 400 DEI-related grants, a review of
federal spending between 2021-2024 showed.
Meanwhile, during the Trump 45
administration, only 60 grants for DEI initiatives were approved,
totaling only a few billion dollars, still too much by any standard.
One Buttigieg program, “Justice-40,” spent 55% of $150 billion in infrastructure investments to “disadvantaged communities” after Biden signed an executive order to “advance equitable outcomes.”
Buttigieg spent much of his term slamming the airline industry for canceling flights and implementing so-called “junk fees.”
Less than two weeks from last November’s election, the DOT attempted to implement a federal rule that
would compensate passengers for every delay and cancellation up to
$1000, even if that amount was higher than the original fare.
That caused a top airline trade association to accuse Buttigieg of engaging in “a political stunt.”
“Secretary Buttigieg is proud of the work he
did to improve the rights and protections of consumers–like making
refunds automatic when airlines cancel a flight, proposing a rule to
ensure parents can sit with their children for no charge when they fly,
and ensuring individuals that fly with wheelchairs are compensated if
airlines damage them,” said Buttigiege spoksman Chris Meagher.
As a point of information, a majority of
airlines already compensate passengers for non-weather and
non-ATC-related flight cancellations, and already ensure wheelchair
passengers whose equipment is damaged are compensated.
On January 29, 2025, just over one week into the Trump administration, a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional jet was on approach to Washington’s Reagan National Airport when it was struck by a Sikorsky H-60 Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing all aboard both aircraft.
Sources reported that the air traffic control tower at Reagan National was understaffed at the time of the crash.
Trump administration Secretary of
Transportation Sean Duffy has promised to expedite the upgrading of the
country’s ATC systems, and President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,”
signed into law on July 4, directs $12.5 billion to modernize the country’s ATC systems.
David Grizzle, who served under Obama as the
FAA’s chief counsel, acting deputy administrator, and chief operating
officer of its Air Traffic Organization, praised Duffy for his focus on
the ATC issue.
“It’s not so much that prior administrations
have been especially indifferent; he’s just been exceedingly attentive,”
Grizzle said. “I’ve been on blue ribbon panels in Trump and Biden…He
will stand out for decades as one of the most engaged secretaries we’ve
had.”
WASHINGTON, DC- When a catastrophic mid-air collision near Washington-Reagan National Airport occurred earlier this year,
and after a series of near-misses at airports on the ground and in the
skies, Democrats were quick to blame President Trump and the Department
of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for the incidents.
Now, according to The New York Post, we are learning the truth about what really happened.
According to spending records and airline industry insiders, the Department of Transportation, under the leadership of failed South Bend, Indiana, mayor and failed Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, burned through tens of billions of dollars on a DEI agenda while failing to replace outdated air traffic control systems during his tenure as Joe Biden’s transportation secretary.
In fact, industry sources said that Buttigieg, who fancies himself a 2028 presidential contender, told them that air traffic control upgrades would simply allow them to fly more planes, “and so why would that be in his interest?”
Instead of investing taxpayer funds into what some have called a nearly half-century-old air traffic control system and hiring additional desperately needed air traffic controllers, the DOT instead doled out over $80 billion in four years for hundreds of diversity, equity and inclusion grants, which is about half of the DOT’s entire budget for a fiscal year, financial records showed.
“He was definitely pushing an agenda,” an air industry official said, claiming that Buttigieg had “little to no interest” and took “definitely zero action” toward modernizing the antiquated air traffic control system.
Instead, Buttigieg spent most of his time,
The Post wrote, “vilifying” the airline industry, blaming the airlines
for flight delays, while maintaining that the department’s DEI obsession hadn’t led to any air traffic control staffing shortages nor had it failed to address the aging air traffic control system.
Sources told The Post that the ATC system hasn’t been upgraded since the Carter administration nearly 50 years ago.
Failure to safeguard the ATC system has been putting the flying public in danger, with numerous near-misses, including just last week when a Delta Airlines regional jet had to take evasive action to avoid a midair collision with an Air Force B-52 over North Dakota.
Insiders say the flying public has paid the price for Buttigieg’s lack of focus.
“At first, [the Department of Transportation] and he were reluctant to say there was an air traffic controller shortage or that the shortage had anything to do with flight delays or flight cancellations,” the air industry official said.
A spokesman for Buttigieg denied those claims
and stated that there was an increase in air traffic control hiring
under his leadership, as well as software changes to improve efficiency
on airport runways.
The DOT also allegedly added new flight rules expected to cut up to 100 hours off travel time annually.
In 2022, Buttigieg was panned for bloviating about “racist highways.”
“There is racism physically built into some of our highways,” Buttigieg claimed in 2021. He said that while pushing for Biden’s #3 trillion Build Back Better monstrosity. The funding was later included in another bill and directed $1 billion over five years to “help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure.”
Despite Buttigieg blaming the airlines for flight delays that plagued the country in a post-pandemic world, DOT statistics show that most flight cancellations (54%) were caused by weather, while just over a third (34.7%) were attributed to air carriers. Overall, nearly 80% of airline flights operated on time.
Industry insiders admit that the hiring of controllers has improved somewhat over the past couple of years, but noted that there is a high dropout rate in the ATC academy, combined with surging retirements from veteran air traffic controllers. Part of the issue is that controllers cannot be over the age of 30 to be hired and have a mandatory retirement age of 56.
Industry insiders, however, claim that Buttigieg seemed less interested in fixing the ATC systems than “looking good on TV.”
The Post reports that the FAA has faced chronic understaffing for years and has employed only 80% of the target number of certified air traffic controllers since at least 2017. That was the primary factor that forces delays and cancellations of flights.
In an urgent letter to Buttigieg’s DOT in April 2024, officials from within the airline industry urged him to step up hiring, noting that at the current rate of hiring, it could take as long as 90 years for the FAA to reach targeted staffing levels in some New York area traffic control centers, among the busiest in the US.
During the Biden administration, the Buttigieg-led DOT approved over 400 DEI-related grants, a review of federal spending between 2021-2024 showed.
Meanwhile, during the Trump 45 administration, only 60 grants for DEI initiatives were approved, totaling only a few billion dollars, still too much by any standard.
One Buttigieg program, “Justice-40,” spent 55% of $150 billion in infrastructure investments to “disadvantaged communities” after Biden signed an executive order to “advance equitable outcomes.”
Buttigieg spent much of his term slamming the airline industry for canceling flights and implementing so-called “junk fees.”
Less than two weeks from last November’s election, the DOT attempted to implement a federal rule that
would compensate passengers for every delay and cancellation up to
$1000, even if that amount was higher than the original fare.
That caused a top airline trade association to accuse Buttigieg of engaging in “a political stunt.”
“Secretary Buttigieg is proud of the work he did to improve the rights and protections of consumers–like making refunds automatic when airlines cancel a flight, proposing a rule to ensure parents can sit with their children for no charge when they fly, and ensuring individuals that fly with wheelchairs are compensated if airlines damage them,” said Buttigiege spoksman Chris Meagher.
As a point of information, a majority of airlines already compensate passengers for non-weather and non-ATC-related flight cancellations, and already ensure wheelchair passengers whose equipment is damaged are compensated.
On January 29, 2025, just over one week into the Trump administration, a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional jet was on approach to Washington’s Reagan National Airport when it was struck by a Sikorsky H-60 Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing all aboard both aircraft.
Sources reported that the air traffic control tower at Reagan National was understaffed at the time of the crash.
Trump administration Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has promised to expedite the upgrading of the country’s ATC systems, and President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law on July 4, directs $12.5 billion to modernize the country’s ATC systems.
David Grizzle, who served under Obama as the FAA’s chief counsel, acting deputy administrator, and chief operating officer of its Air Traffic Organization, praised Duffy for his focus on the ATC issue.
“It’s not so much that prior administrations have been especially indifferent; he’s just been exceedingly attentive,” Grizzle said. “I’ve been on blue ribbon panels in Trump and Biden…He will stand out for decades as one of the most engaged secretaries we’ve had.”
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