Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation

Memorandum of January 21, 2025

Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation

Memorandum for the Secretary of Transportation [and]
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration

Every day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
within the U.S. Department of Transportation, oversees
safety for more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million
airline passengers. These Americans trust the FAA's
public servants with their lives, and it is therefore
imperative that they maintain a commitment to
excellence and efficiency.

During the prior administration, however, the FAA
betrayed its mission by elevating dangerous
discrimination over excellence. For example, prior to
my Inauguration, the FAA Diversity and Inclusion
website revealed that the prior administration sought
to specifically recruit and hire individuals with
serious infirmities that could impact the execution of
their essential life-saving duties.

Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race,
sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the
safety of airline passengers and overall job
excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all
Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence. It also
penalizes hard-working Americans who want to serve in
the FAA but are unable to do so, as they lack a
requisite disability or skin color. FAA Federal
servants must hold the qualifications and ability to
perform their jobs to the highest possible standard of
excellence.

I hereby order the Secretary of Transportation and the
Federal Aviation Administrator to immediately return to
non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring, as required by
law. All so-called DEI initiatives, including all
dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall
immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting,
and otherwise treating employees on the basis of
individual capability, competence, achievement, and
dedication.

The Secretary of Transportation and the Federal
Aviation Administrator shall review the past
performance and performance standards of all
individuals in critical safety positions and take all
appropriate action to ensure that any individual who
fails or has failed to demonstrate requisite capability
is replaced by a high-capability individual that will
ensure top-notch air safety and efficiency.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Washington, January 21, 2025