Trump Directs FAA to Return to ‘Merit-Based Hiring’ System

President Donald Trump is directing the incoming Secretary of Transportation and head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to return to “merit-based hiring” for all positions, including air traffic controllers, and to end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Trump, who has notably nominated former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) to lead the Department of Transportation, took the executive action in a memo on Tuesday:

I hereby order the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administrator to immediately return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring, as required by law.  All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.

In addition to the sweeping policy change for the hiring system, Trump is ordering a review of “the past performance and performance standards of all individuals in critical safety positions.”

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Trump further directs the secretary and FAA administrator to “take all appropriate action to ensure that any individual who fails or has failed to demonstrate requisite capability is replaced by a high-capability individual that will ensure top-notch air safety and efficiency.”

The memo adds that under the Biden administration, the FAA’s embrace of DEI “betrayed its mission,” adding:

For example, prior to my Inauguration, the FAA Diversity and Inclusion website revealed that the prior administration sought to specifically recruit and hire individuals with serious infirmities that could impact the execution of their essential life-saving duties.

The move came hours before the White House announced on Wednesday that Trump had signed a major executive order terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) “discrimination in the federal workforce, and in federal contracting and spending.”

One facet of the order rescinds President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246, which mandated that government contractors take affirmative action.

Trump has vowed to root DEI out of the federal government since 2023 and reaffirmed his commitment during his rally at the Capital One Arena on the eve of his inauguration.

“We’re going to stop the destructive and divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates all across government and private sector and return our country to the merit system,” Trump declared.