DC Air Crash Highlights Need for Functioning Government - The Thursday AM Quickie 1/30/25
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ON THE SHOW TODAY
1/30: It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Erik Baker, professor of the history of science & labor at Harvard University, to discuss his recent book Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America. Then, she speaks with Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers (UFW), to discuss the Trump administrations's immigration executive orders and directives, and their impact on UFW workers.
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Today you'll read about White House plans to deport students opposed to genocide, how Eric Adams' plan to escape criminal prosecution appears to be working out, and Kyrsten Sinema's new job shilling crypto.
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THE BIG NEWS
Trump, Who Just Cut Air Safety, Blusters That DC Crash 'Should Have Been Prevented'
A US Army Black Hawk helicopter on a training flight out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, crashed into an American Airlines regional jet flying from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, DC, last night over Reagan National Airport. The passenger jet was carrying 64 people, including four crew, and at least three soldiers were aboard the helicopter. Both wrecked craft fell into the icy Potomac River. No survivors have yet been reported.
As the Washington Post reports, and readers of this newsletter may recall, the crash follows a series of close calls that the Federal Aviation Administration views "as a sign that the aviation system is under stress." Air traffic controllers have been complaining about understaffing and fatigue. Congress also added five round-trip flights to Reagan National last year in the FAA funding bill, a decision that "came over the objections of members of the DC-area congressional delegation, who have long argued that the airport is at capacity and that adding more flights could compromise its ability to operate safely."
Before all the facts were in, Donald Trump proceeded to do what he does best: blame others. After noting that the weather was clear at the time of the crash, he mused on Truth Social, "why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn, Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do... This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"
The FAA does not yet have a permanent leader. Just nine days ago, Trump eliminated the Homeland Security Department's Aviation Security Advisory Committee. And last week, House Democrats warned about "Trump's dangerous freeze of air traffic control hiring," warning that "instead of working to improve aviation safety...the Administration is choosing to spread bogus DEI claims." So, yeah: not good!
"The thoughts and the prayers of the entire Trump administration are with all those that are involved," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last night. New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also sent prayers and said his $842 billion department was "poised to assist if needed."