President Donald Trump on Thursday signed two executive orders appointing a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) deputy administrator and ordering an immediate assessment of aviation safety.

The orders came after an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people and an Army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers crashed in midair at about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The aircraft plummeted into the frigid Potomac River near Reagan National Airport, leaving 67 people presumed dead.

In the Oval Office Thursday, Trump signed an order appointing Chris Rocheleau acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

VICTIMS IDENTIFIED IN DC PLANE CRASH INVOLVING AMERICAN AIRLINES JET AND MILITARY HELICOPTER

Rocheleau most recently served as National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) CEO and held multiple leadership roles at the FAA during his more than 20-year tenure, including director of the office of emergency operations and investigations.

The NBAA wrote in a statement it "welcomed" the announcement.

"Chris is an outstanding leader who will be good for the FAA, good for aviation and good for the country, especially at this challenging time," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "He has demonstrated excellence at every level in the government, military and aviation industry."

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Trump called Rocheleau a "very capable guy" while signing the order.

A second executive order ordered an immediate assessment of aviation safety and an elevation of "competence" over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

While signing the order, he said former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama's DEI policies were "just crazy."

The memorandum says the Obama administration introduced a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude, and the Biden administration later encouraged the recruitment of people with "severe intellectual disabilities."

"During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence," Trump wrote in the memo. "The Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous ‘diversity equity and inclusion’ tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities in the FAA."

While Trump ordered an immediate return to merit-based recruitment, hiring and promotion on his second day in office, he noted the recent plane crash "underscores the need to elevate safety and competence as the priority of the FAA."

Trump said Thursday the collision was a "confluence of bad decisions that were made, and you have people that lost their lives, violently lost their lives."

When asked about the roles those with "severe intellectual disabilities" were hired to fill, the FAA told Fox News Digital it would not comment.

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this story.

President Donald Trump's choice to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, passed a Senate cloture vote Thursday night. 

The vote was 83-13.

Collins will proceed to a full vote on the Senate floor for confirmation, which he is expected to easily secure with strong bipartisan support.

HAWAII'S HIRONO ONLY SENATOR TO VOTE NO ON COLLINS, CONTINUING PARTISAN STREAK AT HEARINGS

A former U.S. congressman, the Gainesville, Georgia, native also serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Collins was not expected to face a difficult confirmation fight and received bipartisan support in his committee hearing, the lone exception being Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who voted against him.

If confirmed as VA secretary, Collins would oversee a beleaguered system of healthcare and benefits for the nation's veterans. 

Long wait times to see providers, lack of access to community care, inadequate mental health support and budget shortfalls are just a few of many problems that have plagued past secretaries in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson continued his attack on President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying anyone questioning what the U.S. would look like had the Confederacy won, should have no question at this point under his administration.

A reporter asked Johnson during a press conference on Wednesday if he planned to go to Washington, D.C. to testify about sanctuary cities as the Trump administration continues to conduct operations targeting criminal illegal aliens.

House Republicans, including U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Tenn., chair of the GOP-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform, called on sanctuary city mayors to testify next month about the policy’s impact on public safety and the refusal to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

This oversight committee, of all the things that they want to have sight over, they should look at the White House right now," Johnson said. "That White House is being ran in one of the most raggedy forms of government that I've ever seen. If anybody is questioning whether or not what our country would look like had the Confederacy won, there should be no question now. They want us to be afraid. Do not be afraid, Chicago."

CHICAGO MAYOR RIPS ICE OPERATIONS, SAYS TRUMP ‘IS ATTEMPTING TO GET US TO SURRENDER OUR HUMANITY’

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The mayor said he will not be intimidated by an individual who refuses to stand up to another individual who believes "he’s a supreme being."

Johnson also accused Trump of rejecting the U.S. Constitution by carrying out his responsibilities.

"If they want to have a real discussion about undocumented individuals who are criminals, they should look at the very individuals who enslaved my people and colonized this land," Johnson said.

Earlier in the press conference, another reporter asked the mayor if he had toned down rhetoric about relitigating the civil war.

COMER LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO SANCTUARY CITIES, ASKS MAYORS TO TESTIFY

"I still believe that there are people who have not accepted the results of the Civil War, and here’s the thing: I said that before this administration took office," Johnson said. "Unfortunately, I’m right. I mean, you have an entire administration that is looking to take away federal protections for the people who are most vulnerable.

"So, no, my position has not changed," he added.

The mayor’s statement comes more than a week after he doubled down on a vow to oppose Trump’s sweeping reform aimed at removing dangerous illegal immigrants accused of crimes from the U.S. once he returns to the Oval Office.

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On day one of his second term, Trump issued ten executive orders aimed at overhauling U.S. immigration law and policy, and since then, armed federal immigration agents have swept cities in the first deportation raids. 

In a letter, Comer, Johnson and other mayors of sanctuary cities, to provide documents and information related to the sanctuary policies of each city.

Sanctuary cities limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Supporters argue that enforcement of immigration is the job of the federal government. 

Opponents say sanctuary policies harbor criminals, as well as those in the country illegally, and put the public, including legal and illegal immigrants, at risk.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

The Senate Thursday evening advanced President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Department of Energy to a final confirmation vote.

The vote was 62-35. 

Chris Wright, the CEO and founder of Liberty Energy Inc., an energy industry service provider based in Colorado, was tapped by the 47th president to head the  Department of Energy under his administration.

The Trump nominee has received bipartisan support for his nomination, being introduced by a Democrat, Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this month.

The Senate held a late-night cloture vote for Wright, to end discussion over his nomination. 

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The cloture vote passed with bipartisan support, meaning Wright will advance to a final Senate vote, likely to take place on Friday.

Wright, during his confirmation hearing, said he had identified three "immediate tasks" where he would focus his attention: unleashing American energy, leading the world in innovation and technology breakthroughs and increasing production in America.

The top Republican on the Senate's chief health committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., indicated Thursday during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s second confirmation hearing of the week that his vote for Trump's nominee to head Health and Human Services was not a lock, noting that he was "struggling" to confirm Kennedy over his inability to admit vaccines are safe and don't cause autism.

Kennedy faced two separate hearings in front of Senate lawmakers this week in his bid to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy was probed frequently over his views on vaccines, which have been a sticking point for many senators as they figure out whether to vote in favor of Kennedy's nomination or not.

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During the hearings, Kennedy refused to reject claims he has posited publicly in the past that vaccines cause autism and argued he is not anti-vaccine but rather "pro-safety." Kennedy added during the hearings that his plan as HHS secretary would be to "follow the science," noting that if the science says he is wrong on vaccines, he will publicly apologize. 

But senators, like Cassidy, have suggested during Kennedy's confirmation hearings that the science says vaccines are safe — and they don't cause autism.

"My responsibility is to learn, try and determine, if you can be trusted to support the best public health," Cassidy, a former physician, said during his closing remarks at Kennedy's Thursday confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). "A worthy movement called ‘MAHA,’" Cassidy continued, "to improve the health of Americans, or to undermine it, always asking for more evidence, and never accepting the evidence that is there … That is why I've been struggling with your nomination." 

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Cassidy repeatedly asked Kennedy during the Thursday hearing to publicly declare that vaccines don't cause autism, but he refused. "That would have an incredible impact," Cassidy said. 

"There are issues we are, man, ultra-processed food, obesity, we are simpatico. We are completely aligned," Cassidy continued during his closing remarks. "And as someone who has discussed immunizations with thousands of people, I understand that mothers want reassurance that the vaccine their child is receiving is necessary, safe and effective. We agree on that point, the two of us, but we've approached it differently. And I think I can say that I've approached it using the preponderance of evidence to reassure, and you've approached it using selective evidence to cast doubt."

Meanwhile, Cassidy pointed out the massive "megaphone" Kennedy has as a descendant of former President John F. Kennedy, and questioned whether he will use his credibility "to support" or "to undermine" the nation's public health and its confidence in vaccines.

"I got to figure that out, for my vote," Cassidy said.

A clash on Thursday between Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Kash Patel, the nominee for FBI director, set social media ablaze when conservatives ripped into the new California senator after what they saw as a win for the Trump nominee.

Schiff, in his line of questioning at Patel’s confirmation hearing, began by asking Patel whether he stood by prior testimony that he had nothing to do with the recording of a song about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot inmates.

"[That] is interesting, because here's what you told Steve Bannon on his podcast: ‘So, what we thought would be cool is if we captured that audio and then, of course, had the greatest president, President Donald J. Trump, recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we went to a studio and recorded it, mastered it, digitized it, and put it out as a song.'"

KASH PATEL ENRAGES ADAM SCHIFF IN CLINTONIAN BATTLE OVER THE WORD ‘WE’ AND A JANUARY 6 SONG 

The two quibbled over the meaning of "we" and whether it included Patel.

"Yeah, and you’re part of that ‘we’ — right — when you say ‘we,’ that includes you, Mr. Patel," Schiff said.

"Not in every instance." Patel said, adding he had not personally participated in the recording or mastering of the single.

Schiff responded, "Well, that's new. So, when you said ‘we,' you didn't really mean you. Is that your testimony?"

"Not unless you have a new definition for the word ‘we,'" Patel said.

In Thursday’s hearing, however, Patel said he was using the word "we" appropriately, while Schiff said he had "promoted the hell out of it," referencing the inmates’ single.

"I don't know what that means, but I promoted the heck out of raising money for families in need," Patel shot back.

In another exchange, Schiff asked Patel if an FBI director promoted a song about people who sprayed pepper spray in the face of an FBI agent, "would you say they were fit to be director?"

"I am fit to be the director of the FBI," Patel said.

Supporters of the Trump administration hammered Schiff and praised Patel over the exchanges.

MAJOR CHANGES PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 AT FBI

"California’s Senator @SenAdamSchiff screams and screeches about the January 6th choir during Kash’s confirmation - and completely misses an opportunity to represent commonsense Californians," former DNI Director Richard Grenell posted on X. "We want representatives who don’t lie. Who don’t miss the big picture. Schiff is partisan and petty."

National Review contributor Pradheep Shanker said "any committee that [Sen. Mazie] Hirono, Schiff or [Sen. Sheldon] Whitehouse is on is one where Democrats completely lose all credibility."

"I honestly thought Bernie Sanders yelling at RFK Jr. about onesies was going to be the craziest thing from the hearings this week," Daily Signal columnist Tony Kinnett said. "Then I watched Adam Schiff yelling at Kash Patel for 5 minutes about song remixes. Good Lord."

"Schiff can’t be trusted to serve on committees," Judicial Watch Chairman Tom Fitton said.

Schiff argued he had won the exchange.

"Kash Patel raised money for January 6 insurrectionists who attacked law enforcement. I asked him to look those officers in the eye and tell them he was proud of what he did. He couldn't," Schiff wrote on X.

It was one of a number of fiery exchanges during the hearing. Democrats quizzed Patel about his record, including statements he had made in his book, "Government Gangsters."

Patel slammed what he described as "grotesque" attacks against him.

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"If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI," he said.

"I stood with them here in this country, in every theater of war we have. I was on the ground in service of this nation. And any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before the Constitution are grotesquely unfair."

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom appeared to blame the Black Hawk military helicopter for the collision on Wednesday at Ronald Reagan National Airport, CNBC reported Thursday.

The post American Airlines CEO Appears to Blame Military Helicopter for Deadly D.C.-Area Crash appeared first on Breitbart.

President Donald Trump slammed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former President Joe Biden over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiated in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under the Biden administration following the horrific collision between a passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, DC, Wednesday.

The post Trump Calls Out Pete Buttigieg’s ‘Bullsh*t’,’ Biden-Era DEI After Fatal American Airlines, Black Hawk Crash appeared first on Breitbart.

The person who was arrested Monday for allegedly plotting to kill Trump officials is identified as 24-year-old Ryan Michael English, who prefers to go by Riley Jane.

The post Revealed: Suspect Accused of Plot to Kill Trump Officials Is Transgender appeared first on Breitbart.

President Trump has signed settlement papers that will require Mark Zuckerberg's Meta to pay roughly $25 million to resolve a 2021 lawsuit Trump filed after the company suspended his accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

The post Mark Zuckerberg’s MAGA Makeover Continues: Meta to Pay $25 Million to Settle Donald Trump’s Lawsuit appeared first on Breitbart.

Donald Trump's DHS chief, Kristi Noem, has frozen government funding for the progressive groups that aid migrants, pending a 90-day review.

The post Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem Chops Funding for Migrant Aid Groups appeared first on Breitbart.

Trust in the intelligence community is at an "all-time low," Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, said at her confirmation hearing.

The post DNI Nominee Tulsi Gabbard Lays Out Weaponization of Biden Admin: Trust Is at an ‘All-Time Low’ appeared first on Breitbart.

President Donald Trump offered prayers for the journalists in the White House briefing room on Thursday, as he addressed the media about Wednesday's deadly midair collision between a commercial jet and an Army helicopter.

The post Trump Prays for Journalists: ‘God Bless Everyone in This Room’ appeared first on Breitbart.

Business optimism and consumer sentiment surged after the election, likely giving a boost to fourth quarter GDP.

The post U.S. Economy Ends 2024 on Solid Footing, Driven by Consumer Strength appeared first on Breitbart.

Some employees of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, are so discouraged by the removal of tampons from the men's bathroom that they are engaging in their own form of protest by bringing their own.

The post Meta Employees Protest Removal of Tampons from Men’s Bathroom by Bringing Their Own appeared first on Breitbart.