Stock image of an airplane.Photo:Getty
Getty
The Trump administration fired hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees over the holiday weekend.
About 400 support staff were fired from the federal agency, many of whom were hired or promoted over the past year, starting Friday, Feb. 14,USA Todayreported.
The firings come just weeks after adeadly plane crash in Washington, D.C.. Sixty-seven people were killed when an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter collided over the Potomac River on Jan. 29.
He explained that the employers were fired “without cause nor based on performance or conduct” and the emails came “from an ‘exec order’ Microsoft email address” rather than a government email address.
Per his statement, the firings began around 7 p.m. ET on Friday.
An American Airlines Airbus 319 landing at Montreal airport.Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
“These are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats,” Spero wrote. “They are our family, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our communities. Many military veterans are among them. It is shameful to toss aside dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans.”
“Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency’s mission-critical needs. To do otherwise is dangerous when it comes to public safety. And it is especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month,” Spero continued. “The hastily made decision on Friday night did not focus on mission-critical needs and was harmful to employees.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation told PEOPLE in a statement, “The FAA continues to hire and onboard air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them. The agency has retained employees who perform safety critical functions.”
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In a statement toUSA Today, Spero said that losing the other support staff “creates a huge hole in all those support functions that we need to have to do our jobs on the front line.”
When Trump took office in January, hefired thousands of federal employees, who he said via apost to Truth Social, “are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.”
U.S. President Donald Trump attends Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025.Kevin Mazur/Getty
Kevin Mazur/Getty
In the same post, the president fired four additional employees, writing, “Let this serve as Official Notice of Dismissal for these 4 individuals, with many more, coming soon. Jose Andres from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President’s Export Council—YOU’RE FIRED!”
After the deadly collision in D.C., Trumpaddressed reporters during a live briefingand made claims that the government’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and the mental health of employees were to blame for the crash.
source: people.com
