President Donald Trump's administration received a rare rebuke on Wednesday from an air safety official over a provision tucked away in the annual defense spending bill.
Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, spoke at a press conference on Wednesday about Section 373 of the National Defense Authorization Act, a more than $900 billion spending package that recently passed the House of Representatives.
"This is not something normally where we weigh in so strongly on legislation that is moving before the House and Senate, but given that the DCA investigation is really our agency's highest priority right now, we think it's important that we talk about what is happening with NDAA," Homendy said.
Homendy said Section 373 would "reverse safety changes" made after the January 2025 crash, where 67 people were killed in a mid-air collision over the Potomac River. It would also allow military department leaders to conduct training exercises over the Washington, D.C. airspace.
"This is a significant safety setback," she added. "It represents an unacceptable risk to the flying public, to commercial and military aircraft crews, and to the residents in the region."
"It's also an unthinkable dismissal of our investigation and of the 67 families who lost loved ones in a tragedy that was entirely preventable," she said. "This is shameful. It is shameful."
