The Washington, DC, area housing market has seen an increase in homes being listed for sale as more government employees have either been laid off or have accepted buyouts.
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First lady Melania Trump announced that public tours of the White House that had been placed on pause would be resuming later this month, expressing that there was "much to learn," not just about the presidency, but about the first families who have lived there.
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An anti-Israel student group at Georgetown University's law school planned to hold an event on campus headlined by a Palestinian terror group member convicted for his role in the killing of a 17-year-old Israeli girl.
But the event was postponed by the university. Now, a Jewish legal advocacy group is calling on the law school to formally cancel the event.
Flyers on campus, captured in images taken by a Georgetown law student and shared with Fox News Digital, show that Georgetown Law Students for Justice in Palestine organized an event with Ribhi Karajah for Feb. 11.
"Palestinian Prisoners, an evening with Ribhi Karajah, student activist and former political prisoner," the flyer states, adding that Karajah will speak to students about his "arrest, detention, and torture in the Israeli military judicial system."
TRUMP MOVES TO DEPORT HAMAS-SYMPATHIZING STUDENTS
Karajah, a U.S. citizen, was arrested, along with two members of the U.S.-designated terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and spent 3½ years in prison for his involvement in an August 2019 roadside bombing that killed a young Israeli named Rina Shnerb and seriously injured her father and brother. Karajh was informed of intimate details of the attack by associates within the PFLP and subsequently admitted in a plea agreement he did nothing to stop it.
Karajah also spent several months in an Israeli prison in 2017 while attending Birzeit University, a school known to be a hotbed for terrorist sympathizers. According to Jewish activist Adar Rubin, the director of mobilization at End Jew Hatred, Karajah has promoted PFLP leadership on social media and spoken at PFLP-sponsored events.
While the student group cited inclement weather on social media as the reason for postponing Karajah's event, it said in a statement that, two days before the event, the law school instructed the student group to postpone the event so that the university "could conduct a thorough investigation into serious safety and security concerns that had arisen in connection with the event."
Now, The Lawfare Project, a legal advocacy group that supports students facing antisemitism on campus, is calling on the university to cancel the event. In a letter sent to the dean and vice dean of Georgetown's law school Wednesday, The Lawfare Project cited federal law against providing material support for terrorism.
"Under 18 U.S.C. § 2339A, the term ‘material support or resources’ includes, but is not limited to, expert advice or assistance, lodging, training, personnel, and services. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (2010), upheld a broad interpretation of this statute, ruling that even seemingly benign support, such as providing a platform to an FTO member, can further terrorism and violate federal law," The Lawfare Project said in its letter to the dean of Georgetown's law school, William Treanor.
"By permitting Karajah to speak on its campus, GULC risks providing material support to a known terrorist operative. … The fact that this event was organized by a recognized student group does not absolve the university of liability."
BLUE STATE DEMOCRATS SPEARHEAD BILLS TO CRACK DOWN ON CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM
The Lawfare Project is also calling for Georgetown to reveal whether any law school administrators were aware of Karajah's affiliation with the PFLP before approving the event. As of Thursday, the group told Fox News Digital it had not heard back from the university.
During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent trip to the nation's capital, he met with several U.S. college students and recent graduates who have been at the front of rising anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses. During the discussion with these students, Netanyahu was told about the event by Julia Wax Vanderwiel, founder and president of Georgetown Law Zionists.
"[Netanyahu] had a very visceral reaction to my speech," she told Jewish Insider. "He’s appalled [about the upcoming event]. He said he knows exactly who [the murdered 17-year-old] is. He’s met the family. He said that we need to stay strong. He genuinely listened, cared and wants something done."
Vanderweil added in comments to Jewish Insider that Karajah's "presence on our campus threatens the security of all Jewish students."
The White House has fired the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Fox News has learned.
USAID Inspector General Paul Martin was fired Tuesday, though rather than coming from USAID acting administrator and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the firing reportedly came from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
The dismissal comes days after the USAID inspector general published a report that was critical of the Trump administration’s pause on aid.
It also comes a day after USAID warned that the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID had made it all but impossible to monitor $8.2 billion in humanitarian funds.
DESIGNATED TERRORISTS, EXTREMIST GROUPS RAKED IN MILLIONS FROM USAID, MULTIYEAR STUDY REVEALS
USAID is under fire from the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its chair, Elon Musk, investigate the agency’s spending practices and prepare to revamp and potentially shutter the agency.
The agency announced on its website Feb. 4, that nearly all personnel would be placed on leave by Friday, making a few exceptions for those in roles related to "mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs."
Its overseas missions reportedly had also been told to shut down.
USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, 'INCRIMINATING' BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED
Lawmakers, news outlets and think tanks have dug into past reports related to USAID spending amid the apparent dismantling of the agency, finding countless examples of money channeled to questionable organizations or programs, such as creating a version of "Sesame Street" in Iraq, or funding pottery classes in Morocco.
This week, it was discovered that USAID provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank.
USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid.
Under Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday that some Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) employees who worked on "mis-, dis-, and malinformation" were put on administrative leave.
In a statement to Scripps News, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote CISA needs to "refocus on its mission," starting with election security.
"The agency is undertaking an evaluation of how it has executed its election security mission with a particular focus on any work related to mis-, dis-, and malinformation," according to the statement.
As first reported by Fox News Digital, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified in April 2022 that the Department of Homeland Security was creating a "Disinformation Governance Board" to combat misinformation ahead of the 2022 midterm election.
During an appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, Mayorkas said a "Disinformation Governance Board" was created to address misinformation campaigns targeting minority communities.
MAYORKAS RIPS ‘POLITICIZED’ ATMOSPHERE OVER FEMA DISASTER RESPONSE AMID GOP CRITICISM'
While the agency conducts the assessment, personnel who worked on the alleged "mis-, dis-, and malinformation," as well as foreign influence operations and disinformation, will remain on administrative leave, according to the statement.
The board was allegedly led by Undersecretary for Policy Rob Silvers, co-chair with principal deputy general counsel Jennifer Gaskill.
Nina Jankowicz, who previously served as a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, reportedly served as executive director, Politico reported.
Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: In the heat of the 2024 election cycle, the name Project 2025 was on the lips of Democrats and mainstream media figures everywhere, until it was not.
President Donald Trump’s win ushered in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its de-facto leader, Elon Musk. At the same time, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, launched DOGE committees in Congress, and Project 2025 appeared to fall to the political wayside.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who wrote the foreword to Project 2025 and whose organization published the anthology, said voters’ collective voices ushered in Trump and DOGE’s current work, not necessarily the policy proposals of Washington’s conservative "do-tank" or scholars inside-the-beltway writ-large.
"The American people delivered a clear mandate in November: dismantle the bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy that is the Deep State. And the latest polling – a 53% approval rating - confirms overwhelming support for President Trump’s efforts to do just that," he said.
PROJECT 2025 REMAINS NONPARTISAN, TRUE TO 1980S GOOD-GOVT INCEPTION DESPITE WILD OUTCRY: KEY FIGURES
When asked about liberals’ panic over Project 2025 and how it has been muted with the rise of DOGE, Roberts suggested the left will latch onto anything to make an issue out of it if they believe they can make gains.
"The Left has no new ideas—just unpopular ones. When they fail to win on substance, they simply choose to attack. First, it was Project 2025. Now, it’s DOGE. Different name, same baseless fearmongering," Roberts said in a Monday interview. "But make no mistake: the American people are ready for real change, and we’re not backing down."
Trump, himself, repeatedly dispelled allegations he and Project 2025 – a thousand-page policy proposal product of the conservative Heritage Foundation – were joined at the political hip.
Meanwhile, Heritage leaders past and present, like Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese and Roberts himself have rejected claims there has been anything radical about Project 2025.
"In the first one, in 1981, it was much more organizational, with information on structure and organizational norms, where – later on in 1989 – it was much more individual policy issues-based," he said.
The quadrennial work has been published under various titles and compositions since the 1980 presidential cycle, with some exceptions.
Nonetheless, Project 2025 became styled as a "right-wing boogeyman" talking point on the left.
TRUMP PLANS FIRST PRESIDENTIAL VISIT TO HELENE-RAVAGED NC
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., founded the "Stop Project 2025 Task Force" last year, comparing the project to a "Blitzkrieg" and saying that lawmakers must understand it and "prepare ourselves accordingly."
At the Democratic National Convention, both Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, held up copies of Project 2025 on stage.
"It is a radical plan to drag us backwards, bankrupt the middle class, and raise prices on working class families like yours and mine," said Kenyatta, who has since been elected DNC vice chairman along with gun control activist David Hogg.
The Project’s rumored reputation became fodder for constituents at town halls as well, including in one swing-seat congressional race where a Republican’s incredulous response led to a viral moment, according to Politico.
PROJECT 2025 ISSUES BLISTERING RESPONSE TO HARRIS VIA DOZENS OF INDEPENDENT FACT CHECKS
New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. was asked about Project 2025 at such an event and responded he had never read the document.
"The first time I’ve ever heard of being supportive of it was when I was accused of supporting it," Kean reportedly replied.
DOGE’s ruminations about reforming or trimming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – which have enraged the likes of its proverbial "founder" Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. – were, however, mirrored in the policy proposal anthology.
"Elon Musk and the guy who wrote Project 2025, Russ Vought, are trying to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau," Warren said Monday. "If they succeed, CEOs and Wall Street will once again be free to trick, trap and cheat you."
Vought did not write Project 2025. He was credited as the author for Chapter 2, which analyzes the executive office of the president.
DOGE MEETS CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’
Former Chase-Manhattan Bank Vice President Robert Bowes called CFPB "highly politicized, damaging, and utterly unaccountable" in a section of the project he authored.
"It is unconstitutional. Congress should abolish the CFPB and reverse Dodd–Frank Section 1061, thus returning the consumer protection function of the CFPB to banking regulators," Bowes wrote.
Recent media headlines have tried to tie DOGE to the project, with critical stories headlined "Project 2025 Architect" in reference to people like Vought.
Roberts said Trump’s team should be the beneficiary of such headlines, in that "he and his team deserve the credit" – and that it is a welcome sight that people who embody Heritage’s guiding principles are being tapped for top positions in the new administration.
"Heritage is thrilled to see President Trump appoint so many hardworking patriots who put America First. Russ is one of the great statesmen of our age—a brilliant, principled leader with the vision and intellect to take on ‘The Swamp’ and win."
"Between Russ at the helm of OMB and Elon at the helm of DOGE, they will rein in wasteful spending, restore fiscal discipline, and ensure that our government serves the people—not the other way around."
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One of Trump and Musk’s more recent major endeavors – taking an ax to USAID – is more a project of DOGE, while Project 2025 suggests a more measured approach to rein in the agency’s expenditures and politicization.
That project section, authored by former agency COO Max Primorac, describes USAID as having been "deformed" by the Biden administration to pursue a "divisive political and cultural agenda."
Primorac suggests the next administration "scale back" USAID’s global footprint and return it to pre-COVID budget levels while "deradicalizing" its programs and cutting its international affairs accounts.
Additionally, former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote in Project 2025 that the president should "pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security" and that it has not "gelled into one DHS" as was its goal when founded after 9/11.Cuccinelli had argued that breaking up DHS along "mission[-related] lines" would lead to a more effective government apparatus.
Instead, Trump and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem have expanded DHS’ role versus the Biden administration, including the addition of former ICE acting Director Tom Homan as border czar.
Breitbart News is better than ever, with an exploding influence even Democrat politicians and the establishment media cannot ignore.
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Federal workers in Washington, D.C., are experiencing job instability for the first time ever, and the whole city is in a "panic," according to one report.
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are cutting spending and terminating government programs left and right, leading to layoffs, buyouts and a shell-shocked Capitol not even 3 weeks into his second term.
"Washington already feels like a transformed place," Politico senior editor Michael Schaeffer wrote in a Friday column. "And it won’t just snap back even if the crusade ends tomorrow. … something essential in the culture has shifted."
In his piece, titled, "‘Are We Detroit Now?’: Trump’s Cuts Panic Washington," Schaeffer took stock of the sudden anguish and anxiety experienced by government workers living in one of the richest and most expensive areas of the country.
NEARLY ALL USAID WORKERS TO BE LAID OFF: REPORT
"It is a very difficult time in D.C.," Yesim Sayin, the executive director of the D.C. Policy Center, said. "The uncertainties are so big. There’s a whole industry contingent on the federal government spending money."
"It’s hard to express just how unfamiliar base-level uncertainty is in Washington," Schaeffer said. "The city has always felt like a company town where the company will never go out of business. While most of us don’t actually work for the government, its permanence shapes our expectations, and not just in four-year increments. Assumptions about Washington’s essence inform decisions about buying a house or building a life."
"It’s essentially like a nuclear bomb falls and destroys all your future plans," Sayin added.
While Trump’s moves have affected contractors, Schaeffer says that workers in the nation’s Capitol are experiencing a "novel element to a city built on government stability: economic paranoia" and "a Beltway category that didn’t really exist until recently: waiting around to be fired."
"For generations, the staid predictability of federal paychecks and government contracts has defined Washington life even for the many folks who don’t work for Uncle Sam," Schaeffer wrote. "Now there’s a sudden awareness that those payments may not be so predictable. It’s a bewildering, vertiginous feeling: an industry town when the industry starts to wobble."
FEDERAL JUDGE DELAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S BUYOUT DEADLINE FOR FEDERAL WORKERS
With Trump’s mandate that federal workers accept a buyout or return to work in-person, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and two other unions filed a complaint, saying the buyout offer is "arbitrary and capricious" and that it violates federal law.
Over 40,000 workers have agreed to the buyout, and on Thursday a federal judge pushed the administration’s deadline to accept the buyout or resign from Thursday to Monday.
As white collar federal bureaucrats worried the city is turning into Detroit during the collapse of the auto industry, Schaeffer spoke to Ron Fournier, a former DC journalist who moved back to Motor City, who confirmed the comparisons.
Fournier predicted that the D.C. workforce "is not going to recover."
"It’s hard to come back from being in what you thought was a stable industry, and then you wake up one day and you realize it’s not," Fournier said. "It’s always going to change the way people in your town look at their history and how secure they feel, and how comfortable they feel, and how optimistic they feel. It’s a blow for the psyche that is not going to recover."
President Donald Trump announced on Friday he decided to immediately fire multiple Kennedy Center board members, including the chairman, and fill that role himself.
Trump claimed he and current chair David Rubenstein "do not share [the same] Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture," according to the announcement on Truth Social.
He said a new board would be announced soon, adding the new chairman, naming himself, is "amazing."
INDIANA JUDGE RULES PRISON MUST PROVIDE TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO KILLED BABY
"Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP," Trump wrote in the post.
The Kennedy Center in October hosted a Dancing Queens Drag Brunch at its Roof Terrace Restaurant in October, featuring Washington, D.C.'s "most fabulous drag performers," according to its website.
The October event featured 2024 Capital Pride Honoree, Tula, and other drag performers "representing the diversity of D.C.’s queer community," according to the site.
Tickets were sold for nearly $100 each, with reservations required, and included bottomless mimosas.
TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING 'RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,' DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY
Following Trump's announcement, the Kennedy Center's website limited users, citing "high traffic."
Hundreds of visitors had to queue in an online waiting room to view the site.
In his post, Trump called the center "an American jewel," and said it must reflect the nation's "brightest stars" on its stage.
"At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN," the President wrote. "For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!"
It is unclear which Board of Trustees members have been canned, as of Friday night.
A Trump-appointed judge said at an emergency hearing on Friday that he would put a temporary block on the administration's plan to put 2,200 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees on paid leave by midnight, Fox News has learned.
He also told a government lawyer that he’s not sure whether he would include the 500 employees already placed on leave in his order.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sided with two federal employee associations – the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees – who filed lawsuits over the order on Thursday.
Government officials "failed to acknowledge the catastrophic consequences of their actions, both as they pertain to American workers, the lives of millions around the world, and to US national interests," the lawsuit says.
USAID STAFFERS STUNNED, ANGERED BY TRUMP ADMIN'S DOGE SHUTDOWN OF $40B AGENCY
Nichols said that the plaintiffs had "established irreparable harm," adding that "there’s zero harm to the government to pausing this for some short period of time."
Nichols added that it would be a "very limited" temporary restraining order.
"CLOSE IT DOWN!" President Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier Friday of the agency, claiming corruption there is "AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE."
An official with USAID told reporters on Friday that the agency had "ceased to exist," with the majority of employees gone and funding stopped.
WHAT IS USAID AND WHY IS IT IN TRUMP'S CROSSHAIRS?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the most crucial life-saving programs administrated by USAID overseas were given waivers to continue.
USAID was founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and had more than 10,000 employees and a budget of about $40 billion a year.
On Friday, the USAID website said that at midnight "all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST)."
Trump and Elon Musk, who runs the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, have said they might move USAID’s surviving life-saving programs under the State Department.
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Rubio said the U.S. government will continue providing foreign aid, "but it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest."
Democratic critics have said the move is illegal and needs Congressional approval.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Demonstrators flocked to the streets of major cities across the country on Wednesday, in protest of President Donald Trump’s aggressive agenda on topics like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), immigration, tariffs, gender, labor and more.
Since his return to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, Trump has pressed forward with an agenda that puts America first at all costs, whether it is deporting dangerous criminals living in the U.S. illegally or offering buyouts to federal employees with an ultimatum to either return to the office or search for work.
But with what critics say is a harsh approach to leading the country, Trump has ruffled a few feathers, causing people to protest around the country.
The Associated Press reported that the protests were the result of a movement that has organized online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Websites and accounts across social media called for action with messages like, "reject fascism" and "defend our democracy."
In Austin, Texas, hundreds of protesters took to the streets after protesting on the steps of the state Capitol building.
As the protesters marched, they held signs that read, "Fight, our lives depend on it," "Impeach the b- - - -," and "Texas deserves better," while donning an LGBTQ+ flag and chanting, "Si Se Puede," or in English, "Yes we can."
Protesters also held signs objecting to any influence billionaire Elon Musk may have on the presidency.
About 80 miles south in San Antonio, Texas, hundreds of students from the city’s independent school district walked out in protest of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and mass deportations.
Video posted to social media shows protesters holding signs that said, "This country was made by immigrants," and "The People United Will Defend Immigrant Families," and "The People will Defeat Trump’s Extreme-Right Agenda," while holding flags with Che Guevara, a Cuban revolutionary leader and Marxist who was born in Argentina and became a left-wing hero.
The scenes were similar around the country.
'DEPORTATION FLIGHTS HAVE BEGUN' AS TRUMP SENDS 'STRONG AND CLEAR MESSAGE,' WHITE HOUSE SAYS
In Los Angeles, students walked out of class and gathered in front of city hall to protest against ICE and for the rights of immigrants.
Protesters in Sacramento appeared in droves at the state capitol, shouting rhetoric against Trump and Musk.
And in Phoenix, people protested Trump’s agenda, particularly things like his stance on there only being two genders, as well as tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
While protesters had their voices heard on similar topics at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., another group protested at the U.S. Department of Labor.
Those at the Department of Labor were heard chanting, "Workers United, We’ll Never Be Divided," in protest of the Trump administration’s push to get federal workers back in the office.
Last week, the Trump administration gave nearly 2 million federal employees the option of taking a buyout and getting paid through Sept. 30, but the deadline to take the deal expires on Feb. 6.
Multiple labor unions have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding the buyouts, mainly on the basis that the funds to continue to pay the employees should they take the offer have not been appropriated by Congress for that purpose.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Wreckage from the deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport will start to be removed from the Potomac River Monday morning as officials said they have yet to locate 12 of the victims.
The collision between a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner operating under PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, on Wednesday night left 67 dead. D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly, Sr. told reporters Sunday that the remains of 55 victims have been identified, as the recovery effort continues.
"We believe we're going to be able to recover all of the victims. But no, we don't know where they all are at this point," Donnelly said ahead of Monday’s operation.
Col. Francis Pera from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers said he anticipates "a successful lift," noting they will cover the wreckage with a tent to protect any human remains.
55 VICTIMS IN WASHINGTON, DC MIDAIR COLLISION PULLED FROM POTOMAC RIVER
"We do have a process where we will be watching the lift as it happens," Pera explained. "And then if there are remains in there, that will not move while we're recovering the wreckage. We will bring that wreckage to the surface of the barge. Our process [is] to immediately tent the barge to make sure that we have full discretion."
"When we begin the lift process tomorrow, our goal is to really lift as much as we can – given the fact that we are also accounting for the human remains component – and then our goal is to then transfer that, those pieces of equipment over to a flatbed trailer that will now take it over to a designated hangar, so that the investigation can begin," he added.
THIRD SOLDIER INSIDE BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER INVOLVED IN DC MIDAIR COLLISION IDENTIFIED
Pera said divers at the site are equipped with HD cameras, whose feeds are being monitored inside a support boat.
"So you honestly, you've got four or five sets of eyes looking inside [the] wreckage at the same time," he said.
Pera also said that "reuniting those lost in the tragic incident is really what keeps us all going."
"We've got teams that have been working this effort since the beginning and we're committed to making this happen," he said.
On Sunday, families of the victims visited the crash site.
Connolly said while the lift operation is ongoing, local teams "will continue to search down the shorelines and around the river to make sure that we're getting all the debris that's out there."
"And if by chance, as a member of the public, you come across some of that, you should call 911 and report it to them, and we will get it taken care of and get it examined," he said.
Preliminary flight data from the deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., shows conflicting readings about the altitudes of a passenger jet and Army helicopter that collided near Reagan National Airport and killed everyone on board the two aircraft, investigators said over the weekend.
Data from the American Airlines flight recorder showed an altitude of 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet, when the collision happened Wednesday night, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials told reporters on Saturday. Data in the control tower, though, showed the Black Hawk helicopter at 200 feet, the maximum allowed altitude for helicopters in the area.
The roughly 100-foot altitude discrepancy in the data has yet to be explained.
Investigators are working to retrieve data from the helicopter’s back box, which is taking more time because it became waterlogged after submerging into the Potomac River, in hopes of reconciling the difference. They also said they plan to refine the tower data, which could be less reliable.
"This is a complex investigation," said Brice Banning, NTSB investigator in charge. "There are a lot of pieces here. Our team is working hard to gather this data."
Banning detailed the last moments from the jet's two black boxes, which captured sound in the cockpit and flight data just before what became the deadliest U.S. aviation accident since 2001.
"The crew had a verbal reaction," Banning said, with the data recorder showing "the airplane beginning to increase its pitch. Sounds of impact were audible about one second later, followed by the end of the recording."
Investigators did not say whether that change in angle meant that pilots were trying to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid the crash.
The collision happened around 9 p.m. EST while the regional jet was preparing to land at the airport. The jet from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 64 people onboard, while three soldiers were on board the helicopter, which apparently flew into the jet’s path. No one survived the crash.
NTSB member Todd Inman expressed frustration to reporters, noting that the board has made "several hundred" recommendations to improve aviation safety that have not been acted upon.
"You want to do something about it? Adopt the recommendation of the NTSB. You’ll save lives," he said, adding that he has spent hours with victims' families since the crash. "I don’t want to have to meet with those parents like that again."
Families of victims visited the crash site on Sunday and divers scoured the submerged wreckage for more remains after authorities said they've recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed.
Officials said they are confident all the victims will be recovered from the chilly Potomac River.
NTSB investigators hope to have a preliminary report within 30 days, though a full investigation could take at least a year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The third soldier inside the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was identified as Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, who had been a White House social aide under the Biden administration.
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) holds a briefing on the latest information in the investigation of Wednesday's deadly air accident over the Potomac River.
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Ask many of Congress' frequent fliers, and they'll tell you Ronald Reagan National Airport has sent up red flags for years.
"I've long been very, very nervous about congestion at Reagan National," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
"The congestion of the airspace around Reagan and D.C. as a whole definitely played a part in this," said Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., a former firefighting pilot. "The sheer number of aircraft in the air is as high as it's ever been."
"A lot of aircraft transit up and down the Potomac," said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot and astronaut. "Getting in and out of certain areas. The Pentagon. Other military installations. Reagan right there in that highly trafficked area."
"Whenever I'm at Reagan and I see new gates being built, the terminal getting larger, I realize that there will never be another inch of runway. The skies are pretty congested," said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. "I often think there's too much activity for this small plot of land. And I'm sure there'll be a reevaluation of all of that."
The nation’s worst air disaster in nearly a quarter-century spilled into the Potomac River just short of Washington’s Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. Sixty-seven people died after American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kan., collided with an Army Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter feet from the runway.
Aviation experts say flying in and out of Reagan National is one of the most complicated airports in the country. The approach from both the north and south is over water. Pilots must navigate a narrow corridor above the river – but not fly over the nearby Pentagon. That’s to say nothing of piercing Washington, D.C.’s super-protective airspace. The White House and U.S. Capitol are clearly visible when planes take off to the north.
Moreover, the airport is known for notoriously short runways. The runway on which the American Eagle flight attempted to land stretches a little more than 5,200 feet. Slightly less than a mile in length.
That’s not even the main runway. Standard commercial runways average around 13,000 feet. The longest runway at Reagan National is about 7,000 feet. Plus, all three runways cross one another. Such a configuration is rarely seen at modern airports.
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Last spring, there were two incidents where planes nearly crashed into one another while crossing runways.
The runways are some of the most overused in the entire American flight system. The airport was designed to handle 14 million passengers annually. But that number spiked to 25 million in 2023. The airport accommodates a staggering 800 takeoffs and landings each day.
There were efforts to close Reagan National when Dulles International Airport opened in 1962. Dulles is a monstrosity of a campus. However, it resides nearly 30 miles from Washington, D.C., proper. The nation’s movers and shakers never gravitated to Dulles when it was so easy to fly into Reagan National, deplane, catch a cab and arrive at the State Department for a meeting 15 minutes later.
Lawmakers, aviation, national security officials and the Secret Service conducted serious conversations about permanently closing the airport after 9/11. It was thought that air traffic in and out of Reagan National posed too much of a risk to the seat of government. It wouldn’t take much for hijackers to commandeer an aircraft and reroute it to Capitol Hill.
After all, one plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. The fourth plane – which went down in a field near Shanksville, Penn. – was ultimately bound for the Capitol.
That said, advocates for maintaining Reagan National argued it was nearly impossible to hijack a plane taking off and immediately send it barreling toward the Capitol. It takes a while to engineer a hijacking. There was simply not enough time to execute such a plan seconds after takeoff.
Still, authorities shuttered Reagan National for more than three weeks following 9/11. New safety rules were in place once the airport re-opened. Planes couldn’t have more than 156 seats. All passengers were required to be seated a half-hour before landing. Air marshals patrolled most if not all flights in and out of the airport.
The feds loosened many of those restrictions anywhere from a few months to nearly four years after 9/11. But that didn’t diminish questions about the safety of this particular airport.
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However, proponents of maintaining Reagan National had some of the most powerful allies in the nation: Members of Congress.
Lawmakers keep insane schedules. In fact, the invention of the jet airplane contributed to such bedlam. Lawmakers are in high demand in their districts or states – and on Capitol Hill. That’s to say nothing of conferences in Aspen or Halifax – and glitzy fundraisers in New York or San Francisco. So air travel, coupled with access to a nearby airport, is paramount in the modern Congress.
The importance of aviation is even incorporated into the Congressional vernacular.
Mondays or Tuesdays are often deemed "fly-in" days. The House and Senate don’t truly get going until late in the day during the first day of the week. Thus, votes on Monday might not unfold until 5:30 pm et in the Senate and 6:30 in the House. Depending on if the House (and sometimes the Senate) convenes on a Monday or Tuesday, Thursdays and Friday are considered "getaway" days. The House might cut town by late morning or noon on a getaway day. If the Senate doesn’t toil for five days (which has happened a lot this year, but not this week), the last vote often hits around 2:15 or 2:30 pm. on a Thursday.
Thus, lawmakers have a vested interest in keeping Reagan National operational. Even after 9/11.
Congress reauthorized programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for five years in 2024. But one of the most contentious issues in the bill was whether Congress should authorize additional daily "slots" for Reagan National. New, regular flights commence in a few weeks to Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, San Antonio and San Francisco. Lawmakers have blessed an increase of about 50 additional daily "slots" at Reagan National since the turn of the century.
It’s telling that only four senators opposed the FAA bill last year. All four were the local Washington, D.C., area senators: former Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., – who just retired – along with Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Kaine.
The Senate confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on a bipartisan vote Tuesday. Duffy faced a crisis by Wednesday night. By Friday, the new secretary tightened up airspace around Reagan National for helicopters.
But like everything in Washington, the key to Reagan National is all about access. It’s hard to find any major airport on the planet located so close to the levers of power.
And as long as the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a myriad of federal agencies and lobbying shops exist in Washington, it’s doubtful that Reagan National is going anywhere.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
A 30-year-old Howard University professor has been named among the victims in the midair crash that occurred on Wednesday evening at Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC.
The post PHOTO: Howard University Professor Among Victims of Midair Crash in D.C. Remembered as ‘Beautiful Young Lady’ appeared first on Breitbart.
The Senate’s lead "DOGE" lawmaker said Friday that her quest for government efficiency is beginning to come full-circle, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted a return-to-work mandate she said was first spurred by a 2024 whistleblower who contacted her office.
"The Trump administration, DOGE, and I are already racking up wins for taxpayers," Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital on Friday.
"Growing up on a farm, I know what working from home really means."
President Donald Trump, too, highlighted the difference between telework in white-collar jobs and Americans in agriculture and manufacturing who don’t have the luxury of working from a desk.
In remarks to reporters, Trump said that federal workers appear less productive when working from home and that the dynamic is "unfair to the millions of people in the United States who are, in fact, working hard from job sites and not from their home."
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He also warned federal workers they would have to report to the office or, "You’re fired."
In that regard, Ernst looked back on a whistleblower who came to her and alleged that USDA's District of Columbia offices were largely vacant.
That, she said, spurred her to outline policy proposals that eventually became "DOGE" – a term popularized by Trump ally Elon Musk.
"When I first discovered that the Department of Agriculture was a ghost town, I took action to end federal employees’ abuse of telework and get the agency working for Iowa farmers," said Ernst.
"I have put bureaucrats on notice that their four-year vacation is over, and we are just beginning to get Washington back to work and serving the American people."
A memo from Acting Agriculture Secretary Gary Washington obtained by Politico on Thursday ordered senior staff "with assigned duty stations" to work from their offices full-time. Additional guidance would follow for workers without a preassigned workstation.
Ernst characterized the memo as that full-circle moment.
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Ernst reportedly brought up her early concerns about teleworking bureaucrats and unused Washington office space running up tabs on the federal ledger during a meeting with Trump and Musk at Mar-a-Lago last year.
She previously compiled a report following an investigation into government waste and abuse through which $2 trillion in savings could be realized if the issues were addressed.
In a December statement highlighting that report, the House Budget Committee – now led by Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas – said the Biden administration’s condoning of mass telework "generated complacency in the workforce while costing taxpayers billions in unnecessary maintenance and upkeep costs."
"Early success means there is much more to come," a person familiar with the Senate’s DOGE work added.
According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, only 11% of the USDA's office space was occupied in the first quarter of 2023, and 75% of available space across 17 federal agencies has remained empty since the pandemic.
Ernst built her initial pre-formal-"DOGE" probes off of the USDA whistleblower, which is why she believes the latest development mandating return-to-work for agriculture bureaucrats is the issue now coming full-circle.
Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., – the chairman and founder of the DOGE Caucus – praised Ernst's work and said taxpayers deserve to have a government operating at "full capacity."
"President Trump’s executive order requiring federal employees to return to work is the first step in improving government efficiency."
"This is just common sense, and the exact type of waste DOGE will continue to crack down on," Bean said.
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Ernst’s first DOGE "win" came with the passage of an otherwise Democrat-favored bill named for former President Joe Biden’s longtime friend Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and signed as both Delawareans were departing public service.
Within the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act was a provision to compel the General Services Administration to sell the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building.
The block-long "stripped classicist" building southwest of the U.S. Capitol was designed by Philadelphia architect Charles Z. Klauder in the 1930s, and originally hosted the Social Security Administration.
However, its total occupancy dwindled to 2% – largely Voice of America workers – by 2025.
Another "DOGE" amendment sponsored by Ernst that requires agency oversight and reporting regarding telework was successfully added to a major appropriations bill passed in December.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment for purposes of this story but did not receive a response by press time.
ARLINGTON, Va. (WDCW/NEXSTAR) — A collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C, killed 67 people, including more than a dozen figure skaters.
President Donald Trump said at a briefing on Thursday that there were no survivors.
At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet late Wednesday as it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, officials said. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Officials confirmed that the bodies of all three soldiers aboard the helicopter were recovered.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation," said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital.
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The plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water, and first responders were searching an area of the Potomac River as far south as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) south of the airport, Donnelly said. The helicopter wreckage was also found.
Air crash investigations can take months, and federal investigators told reporters they would not speculate on the cause.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy declined to give specific details during a press briefing Thursday, citing an ongoing investigation.
"We do have information. We have data. We have substantial amounts of information. We need to verify information … that's best for you; that's important for the families," Homendy said.
NTSB officials added that the so-called "black box" recording devices in the airplane and the helicopter had not yet been recovered as of Thursday.
If no one survived, the collision would be the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2001.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard.
“On final approach into Reagan National, it collided with a military aircraft on an otherwise normal approach," American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said. "At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the … aircraft.”
President Donald Trump opened a White House news conference after the crash with a moment of silence honoring the victims, calling it an “hour of anguish” for the country.
But he spent most of his time casting political blame, lashing out at the Biden administration and diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they had led to slipping standards — even as he acknowledged that the cause of the crash was unknown.
Trump blames DEI for weakening FAA in aftermath of Reagan National plane crash
Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, the helicopter pilots and Democratic policies at federal agencies. He claimed the FAA was “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative."
One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration that was obtained by The Associated Press. Those duties are often divided between two people, but the airport typically combines the roles at 9:30 p.m, once traffic begins to slow down. On Wednesday the tower supervisor directed that they be combined earlier.
“The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic,” the report said. A person familiar with the matter, however, said the tower staffing that night was at a normal level.
The positions are regularly combined when controllers need to step away from the console for breaks, during shift changes or when air traffic is slow, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures.
The Federal Aviation Administration has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers.
Images from the river showed boats around the partly-submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the plane's fuselage.
“We are absolutely heartbroken for the families of loved ones of the passengers and crew members and also for those who were on the military aircraft,” said Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines. “I express my sincere condolences.”
Inside Reagan National Airport, the mood was somber Thursday morning as stranded passengers waited for flights to resume, sidestepping camera crews and staring out the terminal’s windows at the Potomac, where recovery efforts were barely visible in the distance.
Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Investigators walk the grounds of the Reagan National Airport as they work near the crash last night of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River as it approached the Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided in midair with a military helicopter while approaching Reagan National Airport. According to reports there were no survivors amongst the 67 people on board both aircraft. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the wreckage of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after it crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025. A regional jet from Kansas crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said January 29, prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a military helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. Dozens of people are feared to have died in the midair collision. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Ken Schantz takes in the scene near where emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after an accident last night while on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter while on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to reports, there were no survivors among the 67 people on both aircraft. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Emergency response units search the crash site of the American Airlines plane on the Potomac River after the plane crashed on approach to Reagan National Airport on January 30, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas collided with a military helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport. According to reports there were no survivors in the midair collision. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A helicopter flies over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Search and rescue efforts are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, early Thursday morning, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va., past the tail of a parked United Airlines jet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river outside Washington, DC, January 30, 2025. A regional jet from Kansas crashed into Washington's Potomac River after colliding mid-air with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, officials said January 29, prompting a major emergency response and grounding all flights. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
A boat works the scene near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A helicopter uses a spotlight on the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Boats work the scene in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Aster Andemicael had been at the airport since Wednesday evening with her elderly father, who was flying to Indiana to visit family. She spent much of the long night thinking about the victims and their families.
“I’ve been crying since yesterday,” she said, her voice cracking. She recalled seeing a young woman frantically running through the airport around the time of the crash, possibly in search of a loved one who would never return.
“I pray for them,” she said. “This is devastating.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn in earlier this week, was asked if he could reassure Americans that the United States still has the safest airspace in the world.
“Can I guarantee the American flying public that the United States has the most safe and secure airspace in the world? And the answer to that is, absolutely yes, we do,” he said.
The night was clear, the plane and helicopter were both in standard flight patterns and there was standard communication between the aircraft and the tower, Duffy said.
“We have early indicators of what happened here,” Duffy said, though he declined to elaborate pending an investigation.
It is not unusual to have a military aircraft flying by the river and an aircraft landing at the airport, he said. Asked if the plane was aware that there was a helicopter in the area, Duffy said the helicopter was aware that there was a plane in the area.
Asked about Trump suggesting in an overnight social media post that the collision could have been prevented, Duffy said: “From what I’ve seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.”
If everyone aboard the plane was killed, it would be the deadliest U.S. airline crash since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, just after takeoff from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people aboard.
The last major fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50. An investigation determined that the captain accidentally caused the plane to stall as it approached the airport in Buffalo.
Passengers on Wednesday's flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.
Two of those coaches were identified by the Kremlin as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships and competed twice in the Olympics. The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches and their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.
Club CEO Doug Zeghibe described the group as highly talented, saying their loss would resonate through the skating community for years.
“Folks are just stunned by this,” Zeghibe said. “They are like family to us.”
The FAA said the midair crash occurred before 9 p.m. EST in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles south of the White House and the Capitol.
American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet (122 meters) and a speed of about 140 mph (225 kph) when it rapidly lost altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.
LISTEN: Audio captures air traffic control at moment of DC crash
A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National, and the pilots said they were able. Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: “PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.
The plane’s transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet (732 meters) short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.
Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center showed two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball.
The U.S. Army said the helicopter was a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Military aircraft frequently conduct such training flights in and around the nation’s capital.
The moments that led up to the crash and its cause remain under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the United States Army.
Anyone looking for families and loved ones should call the helpline at 800-679-8215.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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).
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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.
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