Trump Guts Key Aviation Safety Committee, Fires Heads Of TSA, Coast Guard [View all]

This is about a week old but needs to be re-posted if not posted previously.


Trump Guts Key Aviation Safety Committee, Fires Heads Of TSA, Coast Guard


The committee will technically continue to exist, but it won't have any members to carry out the work of examining safety issues at airlines and airports.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-aviation-safety-tsa-coast-guard_n_67912023e4b039fc12780c73



JOSH FUNK Jan 22, 2025, 11:54 AM EST


President Donald Trump moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday, firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up and eliminated all the members of a key aviation security advisory group.

Trump’s immigration policy changes drew the most attention at DHS, but he is also making changes at the rest of the massive agency.


Members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee received a memo Tuesday saying that the department is eliminating the membership of all advisory committees as part of a “commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.”

The aviation security committee, which was mandated by Congress after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, will technically continue to exist but it won’t have any members to carry out the work of examining safety issues at airlines and airports. Before Tuesday, the group included representatives of all the key groups in the industry — including the airlines and major unions — as well as members of a group associated with the victims of the PanAm 103 bombing. The vast majority of the group’s recommendations were adopted over the years.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many other committees were effectively eliminated Tuesday or whether other departments will take similar actions. A similar safety group advises the Federal Railroad Administration on new rules and safety issues in that industry.


“I naively thought, ‘oh they’re not going to do anything in the new administration, to put security at risk — aviation security at risk.’ But I’m not so sure,” said Stephanie Bernstein, whose husband was killed in the bombing and served on the committee.
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