Buttigieg Focused On ‘Transit Equity’ As Aviation Safety Crisis Escalated

As near-miss incidents in American airspace surged, then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was busy promoting “transit equity” instead of addressing the growing safety crisis. While aviation experts and federal officials sounded the alarm on deteriorating safety conditions, Buttigieg and his team prioritized climate change and social justice initiatives over preventing potential disasters.

On February 4, 2023, the same day a FedEx cargo plane nearly collided with a Southwest Airlines passenger jet on a runway in Austin, Texas, Buttigieg posted a video celebrating "Transit Equity Day.” His message emphasized equity, accessibility, and climate change but said nothing about the growing dangers in America’s skies.

• In the first two months of 2023 alone, six serious near-miss incidents occurred at major U.S. airports a rate far higher than previous years.

• A near-collision at Logan Airport in Boston occurred just two weeks later, when a private jet took off without clearance in front of a JetBlue passenger plane.

• A shocking 15,000 close calls between planes and helicopters occurred between October 2021 and December 2024 on a single route near Reagan National Airport, according to an NTSB report.

• The failure to address safety concerns ultimately led to tragedy—in January 2025, 67 people were killed when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight over the Potomac River.

Despite these alarming statistics, Buttigieg continued pushing an ideological agenda. Nuria Fernandez, then-administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, echoed his talking points, stating that the Department of Transportation’s priorities were “equity, accessibility, and climate change.”

After two years of mounting safety failures, President Trump’s administration has eliminated equity-focused distractions and refocused on actual transportation safety. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pledged to implement all NTSB recommendations, including:

• Permanently banning the helicopter route that contributed to January’s deadly crash.

• Replacing the FAA’s outdated technology, which still relies on floppy disks and copper wiring.

• Deploying new runway safety measures, including ground radar sensors at airports to help air traffic controllers prevent future close calls.

The Biden administration’s obsession with identity politics came at the cost of American lives. Under Trump’s leadership, safety not social justice is once again the top priority for the Department of Transportation.

The difference is clear: one administration prioritized woke ideology, the other is making air travel safer for Americans.

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