Donald Trump Emphasizes Need For ‘Fast Confirmations’ In Wake Of Tragic Plane Crash

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump emphasized the need for “fast confirmations” in the wake of the tragic plane and helicopter crash in Washington, D.C.

The president took questions from the press at the White House on Thursday, where he shared that no passengers or crew had survived the Wednesday evening crash. Trump stressed the importance of eradicating measures that prioritize DEI over merit, stressing the need for stronger Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.

Asked by The Daily Wire whether it is helpful to have his Secretary of Transportation confirmed only a day before this tragedy, and whether this incident intensified his interest in getting his other nominees confirmed quickly as well, Trump responded: “We want fast confirmations and the Democrats are doing everything they can to delay them. They’ve taken too long.”

.@MaryMargOlohan: "Is it helpful to have your Secretary of Transportation confirmed, and does this intensify your interest in getting other nominees confirmed quickly as well?"@POTUS: "We want fast confirmations. And the Democrats are doing everything they can to delay them." pic.twitter.com/EOCBzqawxP

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 30, 2025

“Very good people, everybody knows, are going to be confirmed, but we’re struggling to get them out faster,” he continued. “We want them out faster. It’s a good question, actually we — we’ve been pushing Sean [Duffy], everyone knows Sean, for a long time. We got many, many Democrat votes, but they want to take as long as they can.”

Trump nominees Kash Patel, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard sat before their respective Senate committees in their nomination hearings as Trump spoke.

The president took a jab at NBC News White House Correspondent Peter Alexander, who had loudly berated Trump while asking a question moments before.

Photo by OLIVER CONTRERAS/AFP via Getty Images)

“They ask questions like some of the questions that Peter would ask that were totally irrelevant and not good questions, but they want to just keep it going,” Trump said. “They want to keep it going as long as possible. I was very honored, actually, that you got so many Democrat votes. That was really good. That was really good.”

Trump began the briefing by calling for a moment of silence for the deceased victims and their loved ones. There are no survivors of the U.S. military helicopter’s collision with the passenger plane, which carried 64 people, authorities said.

“I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our nation,” the president said. “This was a dark and excruciating night in our capital and a tragedy of terrible proportions. We grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so sadly.”

And the president argued: “We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system. Only the highest aptitude – you have to be the highest intellect — and psychologically superior people, were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers.”

“We have to have our smartest people,” he added. “It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. What matters is intellect, talent. The word talent. They have to be talented geniuses,” he continued. “We can’t have regular people doing that job. They won’t be able to do it.”