The recent, tragic airline-helicopter crash at Washington’s Reagan National Airport has thrust the Federal Aviation Administration into the spotlight, with its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies at the center of the controversy. Adding urgency to the discussion are reports indicating that the airport’s extremely busy traffic control tower was understaffed at the time of the collision, a deficiency that some experts attribute to the FAA’s prioritization of diversity hiring over merit-based selection.
At the same time, the FAA is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that it denied 1,000 would-be air traffic controllers jobs because of diversity hiring targets. Details of the long-pending litigation have resurfaced, with lead plaintiff Andrew Brigida arguing that the FAA’s focus on DEI hiring practices made an accident like this virtually inevitable.
This is precisely why it is so troubling to learn that a strong advocate for DEI is under consideration to lead the FAA.
The name of Alex Wilcox, who now heads JSX Air, has been floated as a potential nominee. As JSX CEO, Wilcox openly championed DEI, even celebrating his company’s “perfect” score from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index. He also publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement, further cementing his ideological alignment with DEI priorities.
This appointment would come at a time when President Donald Trump has taken decisive action to dismantle entrenched DEI programs across the federal government.
In just two weeks, Trump stopped and has begun to reverse years of bureaucratic expansion that prioritized ideological agendas over competence and accountability. Noting that these programs divide Americans by race, waste taxpayer dollars, and lead to shameful discrimination, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management now has given federal agencies 60 days to terminate “to the maximum extent allowed by law, all federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and ‘environmental justice’ offices and positions.” What once seemed like a bureaucratic cancer is being swiftly excised by an administration determined to restore merit-based governance and efficiency.
Nominating Wilcox, however, would undercut much of the progress toward merit-based decision-making that the Trump administration has already realized — and, considering this recent news, for what is currently the most important position in the federal government to rescind DEI orders. We cannot afford another self-inflicted wound like the one that appears to have played a role in the Reagan Airport crash.
As it is, the administration is already facing strong resistance from the pro-DEI bureaucratic state. The last thing the White House needs right now is to inadvertently undercut its own policy.
Some bureaucrats and agencies are currently playing a shell game, rebranding DEI offices under vague terms like “workplace culture initiatives” and “inclusive leadership programs.”
For example, shortly after Trump’s executive order eliminating DEI in government agencies, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) attempted to circumvent the policy by changing job titles. To highlight just one case study, Lisa T. Boykin, formerly the ATF’s “Chief Diversity Officer,” quietly became a “Senior Executive”—with no indication that her responsibilities had changed.
Given his past history, who is to say that Wilcox would not do the same if elevated to the top post at FAA?
The resistance to Trump’s anti-DEI policy has been even more pronounced in academia, where universities reliant on federal taxpayer funds have found creative ways to maintain their DEI commitments. Northeastern University, for example, rebranded its “Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” as “Belonging in Northeastern,” calling it a “reimagined approach” fostering inclusivity while preserving the institution’s core values.
In typical DEI Doublespeak, Northeastern University spokesperson Renata Nyul stated, “While internal structures and approaches may evolve, the university’s core values remain unchanged. We believe that embracing our differences and cultivating a sense of belonging strengthens Northeastern.” Translation: We will continue discriminating, no matter what the law says.
The moral of this story is that the entrenched nature of these programs is indicative of how resistance will continue, whether through quiet rebranding efforts, bureaucratic maneuvering, or outright defiance from agencies invested in ideological hiring and training mandates.
Ensuring that DEI programs do not simply resurface under new names will require strong leadership and a commitment to enforcing Trump’s order in both letter and spirit. Sadly, FAA-wannabe Wilcox does not appear to possess such a commitment.
The FAA appointment represents a crucial test for the Trump Administration — one it cannot afford to fail. The safety of the American public depends on a lead aviation agency that actually prioritizes merit and expertise over ideology. The Reagan Airport crash serves as a tragic reminder of what happens when those priorities are thwarted.
Bob Barr represented Georgia’s Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003. He served as the United States Attorney in Atlanta from 1986 to 1990 and was an official with the CIA in the 1970s. He now practices law in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves as President of the NRA.