House Republican questions if DEI played a factor in collision over Potomac

Rep. Andy Ogles raised concerns that the Biden administration’s push for diversity, equity and inclusion programs may have played a role in the deadly crash over the Potomac River. 

A regional jetliner operated by American Airlines collided with a Sikorsky H-60, better known as a Black Hawk, helicopter Wednesday night. The plane, which carried 60 passengers, was coming from Wichita, Kansas, and was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport when the collision with the helicopter, which had three soldiers on board, happened. 

Officials believe no survivors are at the crash site and have switched from a rescue to recovery operation. By Thursday morning, 27 bodies had been recovered. 

When asked by Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo whether he felt foul play was involved, Mr. Ogles, Tennessee Republican, said that at this stage, “you hate to jump to any conclusions; obviously, we’ll look at everything, check all the boxes.” 

Mr. Ogles, a member of the House Homeland Security subcommittee, said he had just taken off from Reagan National when news of the collision flashed on his phone.

“To your point, I think you have to look at this with eyes wide open and see what happened,” Mr. Ogles said. “You know human error; was it some sort of equipment failure, did DEI play a role in this type of thing?” 

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SEE ALSO: Trump says Dems put ‘policy’ ahead of airline safety, links DEI initiatives to D.C. plane crash

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“So I think you look at it, you go into it with, again, eyes wide open and make sure that something like this never happens,” he continued. 

Mr. Ogles’ remarks come on the heels of scrutiny levied against President Trump by the political left for his firing of the head of the Transportation Security Administration and members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Fox Business.