As part of its ongoing effort to slash federal government spending, the Trump administration has fired nearly 400 Federal Aviation Administration employees weeks after a midair crash killed 67 people near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
FAA Employees Are Fired: Which Ones And Why?
Over the weekend, days before a Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 crashed in Toronto and just weeks after a deadly American Airlines crash over Washington, DC, notice went out to roughly 400 FAA employees that their positions had been eliminated.
Per the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) union, a division of the AFL-CIO, impacted employees included:
- radar, landing, and navigational aid maintenance mechanics
- aeronautical information specialists
- environmental protection specialists
- aviation safety assistants
- management and program assistants
The layoffs were spearheaded by Elon Musk, leader of the advisory Department of Government Efficiency, who said, “We need to stop government spending like a drunken sailor on fraud & waste or America is gonna go bankrupt. That does mean a lot of grifters will lose their grift and complain loudly about it. Too bad. Deal with it.”
Pete Buttigieg, the Biden-era Secretary of Transportation, asked why the positions were eliminated:
The flying public needs answers. How many FAA personnel were just fired? What positions? And why?
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 17, 2025
Sean Duffy, the current Secretary of Transportation, responded:
Mayor Pete failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system. In less than four weeks, we have already begun the process and are engaging the smartest minds in the entire world.
Here’s the… https://t.co/LCL1dswC2T
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 18, 2025
Which prompted a response back:
At least one of the claims here (concerning telework rates) is demonstrably false, so forgive us for seeking more specifics on the rest. Is the Secretary claiming, and will he show, that none of the hundreds of FAA personnel he just fired were important to safety?
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 18, 2025
Meanwhile, Senator Maria Cantwell (D – WA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, lamented, “The FAA is already short 800 technicians and these firings inject unnecessary risk into the airspace — in the aftermath of four deadly crashes in the last month.”
But Duffy insisted, “Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go.”
As for me, I’m hearing a lot of allegations on both sides without any specifics. Without excusing the failure of Buttigieg to meaningfully upgrade safety at the FAA during his tenure, I do wonder, like him, exactly why those 400 employees were fired…was it because they were doing nothing? Doing something wrong? Simply deemed unnecessary?
If you are one of the 400 FAA workers who were fired, please do reach out or leave a comment below…I’d love to hear about the work you were doing at the FAA.
All the people fired where working at the FAA because of DEI hiring policies.
They should be fired because they are not qualified obviously!
Just one more of the propaganda stupidities of our pro-Russian president, and his South African Nazi lapdog. Nothing new.
Schuuumer complained that the Toronto upside-down was on Trump’s watch , despite it happening at a Canada airport with Canada controllers . Dems reflexively seek to accuse Trump , such as when they accused him of sparking the earthquake in Tierra del Fuego .
WTF you are talking about, Putin lover?
In two postings you have used the terms “Nazi” and “racist”. Tells me a lot about your intelligence level. Have another drink of the Democrats cool aid. When you have no valid arguments you turn to the name calling. I hope you treat your neighbors better than your comments
How many are redundant because they are “teleworking” at full pay , therefore not doing much of anything ?
How many are redundant because they are “DEI enablers” , therefore not doing much of anything ?
How many are redundant because they stand around in their little clique groups , having a coffee , therefore not doing much of anything ?
It really much be done this way , because so many of the management are themselves flakes , therefore not doing much of anything ?
Well considering most of those fired across the entire government lately have been probationary employees, which include longtime employees that were recently promoted, I’m going to hazard a guess that many do not fit the description you laid out
Is the alternative a continually growing army of bureaucrats , paid for by an ever-increasing tax on the non-government ?
Whist borrowing enormous sums ?
Whilst electing the most mediocre hot air ?
Sure, it’s much better to hand over billions of dollars to Elon’s companies. For that, there are a lot of money…
Making Russia Great Again.
I agree with your sympathy to Defund All Electric car companies , including Elon’s .
It’s laughable that Mayor Pete, who disappeared for months on parental leave, is now questioning the agency that he mismanaged for four years.
He should be mocked and then ignored.
@Andrew … +1 . He demonstrated poor judgement by rushing to kiss and embrace Brandon and Camel-a .
I am not FAA, but I am a government employee. The problem with the “firings” is that they are simply firing all the new people rather than taking a critical look at the operational needs of the agency. As a manager, I will agree we need to trim the fat. The problem is the new people aren’t really the fat we need to trim. We need to trim away many of the long-time employees. The new employees are the ones we should keep.
If the Administration would let agencies follow Reduction-In-Force (RIF) procedures, the agencies could get rid of the non-performers based on how the RIF is done.
“As a manager , I will agree we need to trim the fat .”
Well, said , but it’s too late for wishful thinking . The bureaucrats are strangling the nation’s finances .
At which management meeting did you hear Any manager say those words : “As a manager, I will agree we need to trim the fat.”
Who in the Brandon administration said : “I will agree we need to trim the fat.”
I have said that many times to senior management.
Here’s the thing – the bureaucrats aren’t strangling the nation’ finances, Congress is. Congress sets the budget for agencies (not the agencies themselves). Agencies spend money based on Congress’ stipulations as set forth in the budget. Employment levels are part of the budget set by Congress. If Congress wants an agency to hire more people, it will be stipulated in the budget. If Congress wants an agency to lay off people, it will cut an agency’s budget.
My point is the Administration should have just taken care of this through the budget process. Republicans have both chambers, so it would be easy to do. That would force the agencies to cut staff following the rules and avoiding the mess we’re in now (i.e. – like Dept of Energy mistakenly firing employees responsible for monitoring the U.S. nuclear supply).
Finally, 2/3 of the Federal budget is “mandatory” spending (i.e. – Medicare, Social Security and other entitlements) and 1/3 of the budget is discretionary spending (i.e. defense, energy, etc.). The budget issue will never be solved until the mandatory entitlements are addressed. Everything else is window dressing.
What Musk found at USAID ?
What billions going to luxury hotels in NYC for illegals ?
You’re taking DOGE at its word. Take USAid. DOGE may consider the disbursements fraudulent or questionable, but you have to find the reason why the funds were disbursed. If the funds were disbursed according to Congressional directive through the budget process, then the disbursement was not fraudulent. You may not like how the money was spent, but that doesn’t make it fraudulent.
DOGE is trying to make this process of identifying and eliminating waste as this quick and easy process and that it can be solved by getting rid of the bureaucrats. Yes, there are underperformers, but the reality is you have 535 members of Congress who put things in the budget and bills to protect their constituents, much of which you may consider pork.
Heck, with USAid, many midwestern farmers are concerned about the cut in aid because it may depress crop prices since a lot of the aid we send is in the form of surplus food.
Are you in a union?
If so, the union rules dictate who gets let go first.
If you’re non-union then the easiest to fire are those probationary employees.
Now that the workforce reduction has begun the next step is a re-tasking of existing staff.
There may be holes in agencies now but critical functions will be taken over by those remaining.
And serious question…if you worked for a private sector company that was $36T in debt would you feel that your job is safe?
I certainly wouldn’t.
It is Impossible to be Trillions in debt without a LOT of shady hanky-panky .
Trump and Musk are not fools , and hopefully will disclose it .
If true, the uncovering of Stacy Abrams $2B slush fund is going to be the first of many.
I think we’ll soon see that other “activists” with the right politics were given billions of taxpayer money with little to show for it.
We saw it in NYC with Thrive New York. DiBlasio and hid wife embezzled millions .
This is just one example of the dismantling of America and the upending of the entire world. It’s one catastrophic policy amongst hundreds that are leading us to civil war and global destabilization,
In just a few weeks Trump has:
1. Alienated our most trusted allies and thrown them to the wolves. Pushing Europe to the brink of a full blown war to protect itself from Putin and his ultimate end game.
2. Dismantled our entire Government so as to strip away any oversight, any disloyalty, and reshape the nation as MAGA. With gross violations of our Constitution and no regard for the values this country was built on. The destruction of Democracy right in front of our eyes.
3. Embraced Dictators across the world and emboldened them to do whatever the hell they want.
4. Developed a plan to essentially exterminate Palestinians and remove them to what will essentially be camps in foreign countries. And to lay claim to that land.
5. Shackled Christians who were escaping certain death in places like Iran. Families, who came to this country to live in a home that embraced its beliefs. Sent them to Panama where they next go to makeshift jungle camps. Later home to be killed.
6. Removed protective services for officials and Government/Military personnel who were being threatened because of his vitriol and all because they opposed his agenda.
7. Declared that his power is limitless.
8. Started the process of giving a rising power to Oligarchs who will control every aspect of our lives and remove all freedoms. Helping MAGA to eliminate resistance and providing data regarding those who do.
9. Intimidating and blocking journalists who report the truth.
10. Attempting to annex places and areas of the world which we have no rights to. Insulting these nations in the process.
11. Using tariffs like a bully schoolboy to try and intimidate our closest friends and neighbors.
Congratulations MAGA. In just a few weeks America is now the pariah of the world. The cause of eventual global wars. A full blown Fascist nation that once defended democracy and now joins the core of evil empires that will quash opposition and turn its people against each other,
America will not survive this. No courts, judges or lawsuits will provide a guardrail. The resistance will come from one thing and one thing only: fighting in the streets. History is all too clear as to where this game ends.
#6 is a good point .
#9 and the conclusions are ludicrous .
Meanwhile , Pete took paternal leave because he adopted a highway .
Regarding #9 … the television pundit suggested that the holocaust in Germany happened “Because of Free-speech” .
In what way was this “journalist” reporting any “truth” ?
Speaking for all of MAGA…..THANK YOU!
As for you, stop being an elite liberal just because you found some success in life utilizing the system you seem to hate so much. Trust me, you aren’t “special” or in any way different than the poor black from Birmingham. He or she had the same opportunity to be successful you had. You just chose the path of hard work and tough life choices while they chose crack. The right decisions always pay off.
@Dave … Don’t forget , Camel-a was nearly successful despite being nearly illiterate . We missed a disaster thanks to her defeat . Brandon was successful despite being nearly comatose .
Excellent summary of Criminal Trump’s behaviour.
Never mind, only three years and eleven months to go until he’s replaced.
In the space of a few short weeks, Trump has handed the future over to China. The world will never trust the US again, and the rest of the world does not hate China as much as they are already starting to hate the US.
Way to Make China Great Again.
Technicians that maintain radar facilities (essential for aircraft separation), navigation facilities (so planes know where they’re going). Yeah sure such a waste in government spending . If anything they’re probably posturing to privatize those jobs. The taxpayer still ends up paying anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDYNVH0U3cs
The comments section
Well done, Matthew, for keeping a measured and thoughtful response.
The reactions can be swift and biting, but we lack substantive details.
• Were these redundant positions?
• Were the FAA staff planning to leave anyway?
• In what ways could their absences impact safety?
Although it is not great for optics, it is unreasonable to attribute an unfortunate string of accidents to a new presidential administration. It is coincidental, and shamelessly politicizes those who lost their lives or were injured.
This is part of the playbook for any new administration: a new CEO, a new night shift assistant manager. “Let’s clean house.” It isn’t something I would endorse, but it’s far from unusual.
As for claims that Administrator Duffy is eliminating staff who were hired under plans to increase the diversity of the workforce, we have zero information. Unless you have data, that is a meritless claim. But pressing the “DEI” button attracts attention and outrage. It would be wisest to comment only in the case of solid and verifiable data.
Matthew, I am thinking that a career in journalism awaits you. You reported a story with potential emotional lightning rods, but you did so with care and respect.
“In what way could their Absences impact safety?”
Please answer Why there are so many “Tele-workers” ?
“ Without excusing the failure of Buttigieg to meaningfully upgrade safety at the FAA during his tenure, I do wonder, like him, exactly why those 400 employees were fired”
Fair question and thanks for not giving Pete a pass for his failures. The last administration spent money like a drunken sailor on worthless things, but little on this. It should be a major question if Pete decides to run in 28.
As for these jobs, why isn’t the media (other than you) working to prove Duffy a liar if he’s wrong about what these workers were doing? I’m sure they would be able to lead their news with proof of him lying but odds are they can’t because he isn’t lying about them being unnecessary jobs.
But with the hatred of Trump, facts don’t matter to some regardless of the waste of taxpayers dollars.
“if Pete decides to run in 28” .
Please spare us from the “parental leave” flake .
In our town, there are employees that do a lot of busy paperwork, including writing up proposed ordinances that city council did not ask for. There is insufficient information from Duffy’s and Buttigieg’s claims.
If the FAA is like our city government, there are people who could be fired.
All governments have many redundant management people .
All companies also have redundant management people .
All DEI people are by definition redundant .
Oh my god, Alert. You have plenty of free time to feed your conspiracy theories and racist themes.
I know it’s cold in Russia right now, but move on, try to make your own blog and stop bothering others.
Remind me, how many accidents have there been involving US registered aircraft in the last couple of months?
And Criminal Trump sees fit to cut FAA staff number?
I’m sure you’ll have lots more accidents to come, just make sure you keep them at home and only US citizens are on the planes please.
AndrewH and Alert- RIght on…. Not sure when the firings started but the radar outages were alive on Jan 12.(ATL- halted all ground traffic). since my family was stuck on the tarmac for hours that day.. ALso radar out in Denver on Feb 15th.. causing all ground traffic to halt.
President Musk is right – safety is for chumps!
What does an environmental specialist do at the FAA?
Out of 50,000 employees they cut a few hundred (in non safety positions) and some of you lose it. Of course the same lot of you have no problem with a politician taking gold bars as bribes so long as he represents your party.
How pathetic…. Mr. Klint sure knows how to reel you in…
Wouldn’t it be funny if this resulted in more accidents?