Quotes
We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,
Trump said
We can only accept the best and the brightest in positions of safety,
Duffy said, echoing Trump's language
, I think we need very smart people running the flights and doing it,
Trump saidIt may have, I don't know
But at another point, asked race and gender played a role in the tragic accident, Trump saidThe initiative is part of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) diversity and inclusion hiring plan
Trump addedI will be meeting with some people that were very badly hurt, with their family member, obviously, but I'll be meeting with some of the families,
he saidI think you have to look at this with eyes wide open, see what happened,
Ogles said on Fox Business
It's been a number of years since we've had an aircraft collision such as this. And so again, prayers for all those impacted,
he addedI put safety first, (former Presidents Barack) Obama, (Joe) Biden and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody's ever seen,
Trump told reporters at the White HouseObviously, we'll look at everything, check all the boxes,
he saidOn DEI and the claims you've made, are you saying this crash was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring?"
NBC's Mary Bruce asked Trump at a White House press briefing
These are various very powerful tests that we put to use, and they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that's the exact opposite. So we don't know."
He addedWhat I've seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely."
Duffy said at a Thursday news conferenceWe don't believe there are any survivors,
he said,As I conclude my time at the FAA, my confidence in you to meet our safety mission has never been stronger.”
He told staff
He needs to resign.”
Musk, the world’s richest person, worth more than $400bn, said
Is there an acting FAA director?”
When Trump’s new secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, was asked ... he walked away from reportersIn the 10 days since Trump’s inauguration, his administration froze the hiring of additional air traffic controllers, gutted key air safety protections, and fired FAA leadership to the benefit of Musk’s business interests,
the progressive policy advocacy group MoveOn wrote in a statement
For some jobs, we need the highest level of genius,
Trump saidThey’ve been around 20 years, ... and I think they need to operate at the highest level of safety,” including by adding a “whistleblower program.”
Whitaker told lawmakers of SpaceX during a House hearing