Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told « Fox News Live » Saturday that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy in Oklahoma has struggled to fill classrooms due to DEI quotas.
« Where the FAA air traffic controllers get trained is right here inside of Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City, » Mullin said. « That’s their training hub and I will tell you we were having a hard time filling the classes because of DEI. »
Flight safety has become a topic of debate this week after an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter collided outside Reagan National Airport on Wednesday. Two days later on Friday, a medical jet crashed on a street near the Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Mullin argued that DEI may have played a role in the lack of safety preparedness, especially following the crash outside Reagan National Airport. He said that focusing on hiring « the best and brightest individuals » is a far more dependable strategy than focusing on « diversity, equity and inclusion » policies.
At the FAA academy in Oklahoma City, DEI policies resulted in classes not being used to capacity to fulfill DEI quotas, Mullin said.
« Instead of these classes being 100% full, we were at 80% or 70%, and it wasn’t from the lack of individuals applying for it except for each class had a ratio that they had to have on it, » the senator said.
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Mullin praised President Donald Trump for taking a strong stance against DEI upon taking office.
« President Trump is absolutely correct, » Mullin said. « When you’re not hiring people based on merit and expertise; you’re hiring them based on diversity, equity and inclusion, then that has a huge problem moving forward for us. »
The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Source link : https://www.foxnews.com/media/faa-academy-oklahoma-struggled-fill-classrooms-due-dei-quotas-sen-mullin-says
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Publish date : 2025-02-01 19:22:00
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