See what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.
The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering airlines to certify their for-profit hiring practices as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against DEI programs.
Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy announced the new policy on Friday, saying airlines that do not legally commit to merit-based hiring will be investigated by the FAA. President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cancel DEI hiring plans shortly before his return to the White House.
“When families board their plane, they should fly with confidence knowing that the pilot behind the controls is the best. The American people don’t care what their pilot looks like or their gender—they just care if they’re the best man or woman for the job,” Duffy said in a statement.
“Safety drives everything we do, and this commonsense step will increase transparency between passengers and airlines,” he added.
FEDERAL watchdog urges WHITE MEN TO REPORT POSSIBLE WORKPLACE HARASSMENT; VANCE ENCOURAGES THE MESSAGE
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announces that airlines must ensure their hiring practices are based on merit. (Reuters/Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Trump’s FAA has derided the approach the agency took under former President Joe Biden, calling the policies “absurd” and saying they “waste time renaming residential areas to flying areas.”
Trump has moved to systematically dismantle DEI programs across the government, signing two orders in his first days in office that directed agencies to target and close DEI offices, cut equity-focused grants and contracts, and drop long-standing requirements to strengthen government contractors.
HEGSETH ENDES EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP WITH HARVARD AMID TRUMP FEUD: ‘WE’RE FREAKING HEROES, NOT HEROES’
President Donald Trump has signed executive orders to scale back DEI programs. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The president directed the DEI to the FAA especially following the horrific plane crash that occurred in the nation’s capital last year when a passenger plane collided with a US military plane over the Potomac River.
“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our airline system,” Trump said. “Only the highest qualification – you have to have the highest intelligence – and the highest intelligence people, are allowed to qualify as air traffic controllers.”
A helicopter flies near the crash site of an American Airlines flight on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on Jan. 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“We must have our most intelligent people. It doesn’t matter how they look, how they speak, who they are. What matters is intelligence, ability. The word ‘talent.’ They should be talented thinkers,” he continued. “We won’t have ordinary people doing that job. They won’t be able to do it.”
Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
