Democratic California Rep. Norma Torres is doubling down on holding President Donald Trump responsible for contributing to the fatal aircraft collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Wednesday night despite the president being in office for just over a week.
Torres fired off two tweets late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning appearing to attribute the aviation disaster to executive actions Trump took related to a federal hiring freeze and firing several agency heads. There is no indication that the president’s actions contributed to the midair collision, a White House official told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Trump administration notably exempted air traffic controllers from the president’s hiring freeze, according to the official.
“It’s heartless and cruel of online figures to politicize this tragedy with dozens dead by searching for any angle to attack the President,” the official told the DCNF. “The politics of DC this week had zero impact on day to day work of air traffic control or the flow of aircraft. Air traffic controllers do not turn over with new administrations.”
Torres stood by her tweets implicating Trump in Wednesday night’s aircraft collision in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation, stating that the president’s actions “are on a dangerous path that threatens to further endanger American lives.”
The midair collision between an American Airlines jetliner and an Army Blackhawk helicopter is believed to have resulted in the deaths of 67 people and is the worst aviation disaster on U.S. soil since 2009.
Torres fired off her first tweet at 10:43 pm EST in response to a post from American Airlines confirming reports of an aviation incident involving an American Eagle flight operated by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines used for regional flights. The Democratic congresswoman posted the tweet roughly two hours after the first reports of a collision were made available and as hundreds of first responders rushed to the scene with emergency crews diving into frigid waters in search of survivors.
Praying for the families and demanding answers. https://t.co/uY0EzWj2s1 pic.twitter.com/I8agtUnM8b
— Norma Torres (@Norma4Congress) January 30, 2025
“Praying for the families and demanding answers,” Torres wrote while sharing two images of a press release from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Democrats criticizing Trump for allegedly freezing air traffic control hiring that was posted on Jan. 22.
Former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo appeared to tell CCN last night that executive actions related to an alleged hiring freeze did not contribute to the midair collision.
“Air traffic controllers do not come and go with the change of an administration … the politics of the situation should have had no impact whatsoever on air traffic controllers,” Schiavo said.
Roughly two hours later at 12:44 am EST, Torres appeared to double down in blaming Trump’s alleged hiring freeze for contributing to the fatal midair collision.
I will absolutely demand answers. All of the families deserve answers.
Trump Guts Key Aviation Safety Committee, Fires Heads Of TSA, Coast Guardhttps://t.co/tnO36mPs9u#TRUMP #Chaos https://t.co/6wsUUBNzfC
— Norma Torres (@Norma4Congress) January 30, 2025
The Democratic congresswoman also shared an AP news article reporting on the president firing the heads of the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and disbanding an aviation security advisory committee that reports to the TSA administrator. The TSA is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, not the Federal Aviation Administration, which is in charge of regulating civil aviation. Torres appeared to be insinuating that these actions contributed to the fatal aircraft collision.
“I will absolutely demand answers,” Torres wrote. “All of the families deserve answers.”
“#TRUMP #Chaos,” Torres added.
“I stand by my statement on this horrific incident,” Torres told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a written statement. “We must thoroughly investigate what happened — families and the flying public deserve answers. This tragedy was avoidable, and as investigators continue their work, I will demand recommendations on how the hiring freeze of air traffic controllers and the firing of key board members will impact safety, especially the oversight board established after the tragic Pan Am crash.”
“Trump has been in office for 8 days, and his actions are on a dangerous path that threatens to further endanger American lives,” Torres added.
Not all Democratic lawmakers immediately rushed to politicize Wednesday night’s tragedy.
“In the most partisan place, I’m really thankful that Democrats and Republicans — people from all over — have come together to try to make sure that the people are served,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, whose congressional district includes Reagan National Airport, said at a press conference at the airport Thursday morning.
Confirmation that there are no survivors on board the regional jet and the military helicopter would make the midair collision above the Potomac the most fatal aviation disaster on American soil since 9/11.
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