U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) questioned on Thursday whether the American Airlines crash into the Potomac River outside Washington, D.C. could have been a consequence of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) hiring practices that critics argue require employers to choose applicants based on immutable characteristics, like gender or race, rather than qualification.
Ogles, during an appearance on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria,” told host Maria Bartiromo that DEI should be among the possibilities considered by investigators for the cause of the American Airlines jetliner into a military helicopter that officials say may have caused the deaths of 67 people on Wednesday night.
“At this time you hate to jump to any conclusions, obviously we’ll look at everything, check all the boxes,” said Ogles in a clip posted to the social media platform X, with the Tennessean revealing, “I had just taken of from D.C. before the crash. Of course, it came across my cell phone, I was horrified.”
He then told the Fox Business host that investigators must be willing to consider all possibilities when researching the crash.
Ogles offered possible reasons for the crash to Bartiromo, suggesting, “Human error, was it some sort of equipment failure, or did DEI play a role in this type of thing?”
He told Bartiromo, “I think you go into it eyes wide open and make sure that something like this never happens [again].”
WATCH: Rep. Andy Ogles on the American Airlines plane crash on approach to DCA: "Did DEI play a role in this type a thing?"pic.twitter.com/Q5j3soa1sD
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The Tennessee Republican made the remarks hours before President Donald Trump blasted the DEI hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under both the Obama and Biden presidential administrations in a Thursday press conference.
“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system. I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary,” said Trump.
“When I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first, Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen because this was the lowest level,” calling the Democrats’ policies, “horrible, and their politics was even worse.”
While the president did not outline a specific policy, he referenced a Biden-era recruitment website for the FAA that reportedly showed the agency focused on hiring air traffic control personnel who had “severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability, and dwarfism.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Rep. Andy Ogles” by Rep. Andy Ogles.