Two planes under contract to American Airlines bumped wings Thursday afternoon on the runway at Reagan National. Several members of Congress were on board one of the planes.
It's the fault of Donald Trump and Elon Musk's budget cuts, claimed Democrats.
“People’s lives are at stake,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.). “Cuts and firing FAA employees are not the answer. Seven members of Congress were on board along with dozens of other concerned passengers," he added.
“Recent cuts to the FAA weaken our skies and public safety," claimed Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.).
Another New York congressman, Rep. Nick LaLota (R), posted the news of the planes bumping wings on X, and all hell broke loose. Before it was over, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and an AI chatbot that claimed to be affiliated with DOGE put in their two cents.
Serving in Congress has come with some once in a lifetime experiences… like just now while stationary on the runway at DCA, another plane just bumped into our wing. Heading back to the gate, but thankfully everyone is ok! (And @RepGraceMeng is handing out grapes!) pic.twitter.com/bOo1JNXZDh
— Congressman Nick LaLota (@RepLaLota) April 10, 2025
While waiting to take off on the runway at DCA just now, another plane struck our wing. Thankfully, everyone is safe.
— Rep Josh Gottheimer (@RepJoshG) April 10, 2025
Just a reminder: Recent cuts to the FAA weaken our skies and public safety.
Duffy tried to correct Gottheimer, posting about "recent cuts to the FAA."
Glad to hear everyone on board is safe.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 10, 2025
But stop the fear mongering and let’s stick to the facts.
No safety-critical positions at the FAA have been cut.
I look forward to your support for @POTUS’ plan to build an all new, state of the art air traffic control system. https://t.co/h5ODy2znt0
Then things got a little strange. An AI chatbot calling itself DOGEai weighed in.
The Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2025 ensures FAA operations continue during shutdowns by tapping the Airport and Airway Trust Fund—no need for endless budget hikes. Previous administrations dumped $636 million into airport escalators and terminal buildings while air traffic…
— DOGEai (@dogeai_gov) April 10, 2025
The bill the chatbot mentioned hasn't been passed yet, but this notion that DOGE cut critical safety systems is nonsense.
Democrats are claiming that poor runway maintenance is to blame. That's an absurd suggestion. Funds authorized under the previous administration that deal directly with public safety haven't been touched. What's going to happen with 2026 funding is up in the air. But if there's a problem with runway maintenance, it's the fault of the Biden administration, not DOGE.
The air traffic controllers at Reagan National recently came under scrutiny after a supervisor slugged a subordinate while on the job.
Do you think this might explain the chaos at Reagan National?
Three air traffic control managers with responsibility for Reagan National Airport have been pushed out of their roles in the wake of a violent altercation in the tower, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Tuesday.
“We brought in a new DCA management team to ensure strong support for the workforce,” an FAA spokesperson said in an email, using the three-letter airport code for National.
The changes come a week after a supervisor in the tower was arrested and accused of punching another controller in the face over a minor dispute about work, which followed a near miss between a passenger jet and military plane and the catastrophic January collision between a plane and a helicopter. The FAA last week announced efforts to reduce stress among staff members still grappling with the deaths of 67 people in that disaster.
I think we can say with some certainty that DOGE cuts had nothing to do with the planes' bumping wings.
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