ROCHESTER, N.Y. — While there is no known cause to the recent midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight that killed all 67 people aboard, President Donald Trump is calling for change within the Federal Aviation Administration.

It comes in the way of the elimination of the agency’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program.

What You Need To Know

  • The cause of the mid air collision is not known

  • Discussions of DEI coming from the top

  • A D.C. attorney talks about DEI employees who may lose jobs

Washington, D.C. attorney Mark Zaid is extremely busy right now and his workload is likely to only get heavier as the Trump administration aims to eliminate those who have implemented federal DEI programs.

“I think it's ridiculous to say DEI had anything to do with the FAA's problems,” said Zaid.

Representing government employees and contractors for decades in the nation’s capital, Zaid is a graduate of the University of Rochester.

"Anyone who has ever followed the FAA knows they're have been air traffic controller problems for decades," he said. "The issue of them being overworked, overtaxed, too few of them, you know, this has been a debate."

When asked if he thought the cause of Wednesday night’s midair collision was the result of diversity hiring, President Trump answered, "It just could have been. We have a high standard. We’ve had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things that you have to go by brain power, or you have to go by psychological equality."

President Trump is reminding the world of the Executive Order he signed last week ordering the Secretary of Transportation and FAA Administrator to "immediately stop Biden DEI hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring."

That order was aimed at the elimination of DEI offices at virtually every federal level and the suspension of DEI officers and those in similar positions.

"We've got all these DEI cases right now, particularly within the intelligence community, where these folks have just been outright suspended pending termination, potentially for nothing that they've done," said Zaid, who is in talks to represent these DEI employees.

"I mean, if you want to dismantle the DEI system. Hey, look, that's your prerogative," he adds. "You know, you run the government now, but the individuals who are in these offices are generally career people. Some of them have been there for many, many years. And if you want to dismantle the office, you reassign them somewhere else. You don't just fire them."

At this point these folks are not fired, but suspended. Zaid is advising them and keeping watch on next steps.

Meanwhile, President Trump has said throughout his campaign that DEI programs would not be welcome on his watch.