Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach appeared Thursday on Fox Business to discuss concerns regarding the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices in the aviation industry.
An American Airlines passenger plane collided into a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday evening, resulting in fatalities for everyone involved. During an appearance on “The Bottom Line,” Kobach said DEI hiring increased operational errors in the air that resulted in hundreds of incidents.
“It’s too early to know if the air traffic controllers made any mistakes,” Kobach said.
Kobach referred to what he said was an “alarming shift toward DEI hiring, diversity inclusion, race-based hiring.”
“It is something we should not see at any federal agency because it’s unconstitutional, and we should not see it ever at an agency that has the safety and lives of so many passengers in their hands,” Kobach said.
Kobach criticized these hiring protocols and said that these positions greatly impact public safety.
“In 2023, based on internal statistics at FAA, there were 503 lapses of in-air traffic controller decisions, which was up to 65% over the previous year,” Kobach said. “And the New York Times reported also in 2023 that there were 300 near collisions in the preceding 12 months, which was double what it had been a decade earlier. So these decisions about whom you hire have consequences.”
The attorney general then praised President Donald Trump‘s immediate action against DEI initiatives.
“I think President Trump got it right when he immediately ended the DEI hiring in the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] and in the air traffic controller world. But we want the best people. Whether it’s my pilot, my air traffic controller, or my surgeon, I don’t care what skin color they have,” Kobach said. “All I want is the most competent, skilled person because their decision could end my life in a second. I think most Americans would agree with that.”
In 2024 alone, FAA data reported that the Reagan National Airport experienced at least eight near-midair collisions, according to the New York Times. The FAA has consistently said that due to a lack of air-traffic controllers on the eastern seaboard, it has had to limit the number of flights allowed through the region.
The plane involved in the collision carried 60 passengers and four crew members. Three soldiers were on the helicopter, and it was reported that no one survived the incident. Newly confirmed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that both aircraft were following their designated flight paths during the incident.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox Business)
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