On Thursday, President Donald Trump appointed Christopher Rocheleau as acting commissioner of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a passenger plane and an Army helicopter collided midair near Washington, DC Wednesday evening.
“I’m also immediately appointing an acting commissioner to the FAA, Christopher Rocheleau. A 22-year veteran of the agency, highly respected. Christopher, thank you very much, appreciate it,” Trump told reporters in the White House briefing room.
Rocheleau, who is serving as deputy administrator, was in the room for the announcement. Trump had just thanked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was just sworn into his post Tuesday, for his work after the crash so far.
“We only have the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,” the president said.
Trump went on to blame the Biden administration for aviation issues, citing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and blaming former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Do you know how badly everything’s run since he’s run the department of Transportation?” Trump said.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers deleted a post blaming President Donald Trump for the deadly airplane-helicopter collision near the Potomac and quickly apologized
The nation was stunned when an American Airlines flight with over 60 people aboard collided with a BlackHawk Army Helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport at 8:48 pm Wednesday night.
On social media, some posted tweets suggesting President Trump could be to blame by referencing recent White House announcements. In one post, Sellers posted a screenshot of a recent press release entitled “Trump’s Dangerous Freeze of Air Traffic Control Hiring” and captioned it “8 days ago.”
Sellers deleted the post and apologized for the timing of his observation, writing:
I deleted the post because timing matters. Politics at this point does not. I fucked up, I own that. I am very prayerful but I’m also very frustrated upset and disturbed with where we are as a country. I recognize, and I will do better.
The only thing that matters is rescuing the survivors, and ensuring this never happens again.
No survivors have been found or expected, authorities said Thursday at an early-morning press conference, after a late-night midair crash between a passenger plane and Army helicopter near Washington, D.C.
🚨BREAKING: DC Fire Chief John Donnelly officially just announced that there are no survivors in the DC plane crash.
President Trump: I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the… pic.twitter.com/iQSWRSY3er
Authorities have moved to recovery efforts in the crash, which President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy both said they believed was preventable.
Shortly after the crash, President Trump write on X that the strategy looked “preventable.”
The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!
The flight, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, was en route from Wichita, Kan., to Washington, D.C. It collided with an Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter out of Fort Belvoir, Va.
First responders stand in solemn honor as they carry the flag-draped remains of an unidentified victim recovered after a midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter. Officials now say they expect no survivors. pic.twitter.com/dumQdqgoHc
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon and the US Army have launched an investigation into the catastrophic midair collision
Hegseth confirmed the probe in a statement on X, emphasizing that the investigation was “launched immediately.”
He called the incident “absolutely tragic” and noted that search and rescue efforts were still ongoing. “Prayers for all impacted souls, and their families,” he added.
Latest below. Absolutely tragic. Search and rescue efforts still ongoing. Prayers for all impacted souls, and their families.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom expressed “deep sorrow” about the crash in a statement.
Isom, in a video statement, said the aircraft was operated by PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines.
“First and most importantly, I’d like to express our deep sorrow about these events,” Isom said. “This is a difficult day for all of us at American Airlines and our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones.”
Isom noted that the company was working with local, state and federal authorities to assess the crash and respond to the situation.
“We’re cooperating fully with the National Transportation Safety Board and its investigation and will continue to provide all the information we can,” he said.
The airline chief added that the company wants to learn everything it can about the crash but acknowledged that it “will take time.”
Members of American Airlines’ “Go team” are being deployed to aid the situation.
“I know that there are many questions in this early stage I just won’t be able to answer many, but we’ll provide additional information as it comes,” Isom added.
President Donald J. Trump participates in a roundtable discussion on immigration and border security at the U.S. Border Patrol Calexico Station Friday, April 5, 2019, in Calexico, Calif. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would sign an executive order for the Pentagon to prepare Guantanamo Bay to detain 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.”
David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“Today I’m also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay,” Trump said. “Most people don’t even know about it.”
He said they need 30,000 beds to house the detainees, adding that putting them there will ensure they do not come back.
“It’s a tough place to get out of,” Trump added.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
The Trump’s administration’s Office of Management and Budget released a memo Wednesday rescinding a controversial order that froze a wide swath of federal financial assistance, which had paralyzed many federal programs and caused a huge uproar on Capitol Hill.
The decision came amid strong behind-the-scenes pushback from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to a GOP senator who was apprised of the decision to reverse the policy order.
The reversal was signed by Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the White House budget office.
The order, issued Monday evening from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent shockwaves across the country and drew outrage from politicians
The funding freeze was originally scheduled to kick in at 5:00 pm ET on Tuesday and expected to remain in place through at least mid-February, The New York Timesreported. Vaeth’s memo ordered that all federal agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
The memo swiftly drew a legal challenge filed by several nonprofit groups, arguing that it violated both the First Amendment and federal law on how executive orders can be implemented, and the plaintiffs secured an emergency hearing that took place just minutes before the funding freeze was set to go into effect.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
President Trump appealed his New York hush money criminal conviction and has brought on a new team of attorneys to represent him.
The five-attorney team from elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which will be led by Robert Giuffra, submitted a notice of appeal dated Tuesday, formally beginning the appeals process in Trump’s 34-count felony conviction.
“President Donald J. Trump’s appeal is important for the rule of law, New York’s reputation as a global business, financial and legal center, as well as for the presidency and all public officials,” Guiffra said in a statement.
“The misuse of the criminal law by the Manhattan DA to target President Trump sets a dangerous precedent, and we look forward to the case being dismissed on appeal,” he continued.
The team will be rounded ou by attorneys Matthew Schwartz, James McDonald, Jeffrey Wall and Morgan Ratner. All of whom are former Supreme Court clerks.
The team will replace Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, Trump’s mainstay trial attorneys who are now set to serve in the No. 2 and No. 3 top posts at the Justice Department, respectively, if confirmed by the Senate. Bove is serving as acting deputy attorney general in the meantime.
A New York jury found Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for covering up a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 as part of an intended conspiracy to unlawfully influence that year’s presidential election.
Trump’s felonies remain on his record, and his legal team has sought to dismiss the case entirely.
According to The Hill, the top-notch legal team will next bring their efforts to the Appellate Division, First Department. The court previously rejected Trump’s various pre-trial appeals, but his sentencing now enables the appeals bench to confront the historic case in normal course.
It remains unclear if the appeal will proceed while Trump is in the White House. Legal experts largely agree a sitting president is protected from criminal prosecution.
Federal prosecutors in Florida moved to dismiss the appeal in the Mar-a-Lago prosecution, pushing to bring an end to the Trump classified documents case.
The motion, which comes after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the state assigned a new prosecutor to the case, still needs to be approved by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
But doing so signals an end to an appeal ignited by former special counsel Jack Smith, as he fought a lower court ruling from Judge Aileen Cannon finding he was unlawfully appointed.
The move is more broadly set to unwind charges against President Trump’s two co-defendants in the case, who the Biden administration still wished to prosecute if Cannon’s order was reversed.
The motion noted that valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos de Oliveira, who were accused of aiding Trump in concealing boxes of documents from prosecutors and his own attorney, did not oppose the move.
By moving to dismiss the appeal with prejudice, prosecutors would be barred from relaunching any similar efforts in the future.
Billionaire Nicole Shanahan, who was the running mate of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., threatened to primary senators who vote against his nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
With Kennedy’s confirmation hearing set to begin on Wednesday morning, Shanahan wrote on X on Tuesday, where she posted a video warning senators not to oppose his nomination.
“He is more than qualified,” Shanahan said. “He’s proven, principled, and prepared to lead. I’ll list I’ll share a list below of key senators. If they represent your state, they need to hear from you. If they don’t, please call your own senator and ask them to vote yes.”
She then addressed several senators whose votes she said she would monitor.
“The two candidates I helped elect, Senator Raphael Warnock and Senator Jon Ossoff, please know I will be watching your votes very closely,” Shanahan added. “I will make it my personal mission that you lose your seats in the Senate if you vote against the future health of America’s children.”
Shanahan listed more senators, including “Lisa Markovsky” a clear nod to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski also voted “no” on Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon.
“And more than that, I also want to say to Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Lisa Markovsky, Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Thom Tillis, James Lankford, Cory Booker, John Fetterman, Bernie Sanders, and Catherine Cortez Masto,” she said. “This is a bipartisan message and it comes directly from me. While Bobby may be willing to play nice. I won’t. If you vote against him, I will personally fund challengers to primary you in your next election, and I will enlist hundreds of thousands to join me.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has reservations and made it clear she’s hesitant about supporting RFK Jr. for the role/
“Well I’m certainly concerned about it. I know others have other, other points of concerns that they want to drill down on and try to get some commitments, public commitments, from him on,” the senator said. “But vaccines are important.”
A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to freeze all federal aid funding.
The order, issued Monday evening from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent shockwaves across the country and drew outrage from politicians
The funding freeze was originally scheduled to kick in at 5:00 pm ET on Tuesday and expected to remain in place through at least mid-February, The New York Timesreported. Vaeth’s memo ordered that all federal agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
The memo swiftly drew a legal challenge filed by several nonprofit groups, arguing that it violated both the First Amendment and federal law on how executive orders can be implemented, and the plaintiffs secured an emergency hearing that took place just minutes before the funding freeze was set to go into effect.
US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan issued a ruling imposing a temporary hold, saying it would be “a way of preserving the status quo” and give the court time to consider the challenge more fully and issue a permanent ruling by Feb. 3.
This administrative stay was “really for the court’s benefit,” said the judge. “It’s really for the court to have full briefing” and properly consider the arguments from the plaintiffs and the Trump administration.
The funding that appeared to be affected by the memo involved “programs that affect people’s lives,” said CNN reporter JeffZeleny, including Head Start, Meals on Wheels, and various Medicaid programs. The White House had insisted there would be no pause on spending that affected people directly, but there was still “so much confusion,” he added, and multiple states reported their Medicaid website portals — the way people get Medicaid reimbursements — were “simply not working.”
This order paused the funding freeze until next Monday, Feb. 3, Zeleny concluded, “and then there will be more court cases to come, obviously. But it is just the latest example of the president and the Trump administration’s exertion of their executive authority.”
Capitol police have arrested a Massachusetts man who allegedly traveled to Washington, D.C. armed with Molotov cocktails and a knife to kill newly-confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Ryan Michael “Reily” English, who turned himself in to U.S. Capitol Police at 3:12 p.m. ET Monday, said he traveled to Washington, D.C., initially planning to kill Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a police affidavit revealed.
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Pete Hegseth, CC BY-SA 2.0
But English shifted his target to Bessent after stopping at a library in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and reading that the Senate was voting Monday on his nomination as President Donald Trump’s Treasury chief, the document said.
CNBC reported English contemplated throwing the Molotov cocktails at Bessent’s feet, according to the affidavit, which was filed in Washington, D.C., federal court. And if he were able to get close enough, English said, he would have stabbed Bessent with a knife.
Bessent’s nomination was confirmed about three hours after English’s arrest. President Trump’s Cabinet nominee received bipartisan backing and was confirmed Tuesday with a 77-22 vote.
English has been charged with unlawful receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm, as well as carrying a firearm, explosive or incendiary device on Capitol grounds.
The affidavit said English approached an officer at the south door of the Capitol and said, “I’d like to turn myself in.” English told the officer that he was carrying weapons, including two Molotov cocktails.
Two officers detained and searched English, finding two devices constructed of 50-milliliter vodka bottles with gray cloth affixed to their tops. They also found a folding knife and a lighter, according to the court documents.
He said he was at the Capitol to “kill Scott Bessent,” the affidavit said.
Police said they searched the vehicle and found a 750-milliliter bottle of 100-proof vodka and a gray sweatshirt with cloth cut off the sleeves.
Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Before transporting English into custody, police said they found a receipt in his pocket with a note written on the back of a receipt:
“Judith dear god I am so sorry. You must understand I can feel myself dying slowly b/c of my heart. This is terrible but I cant do nothing while nazis kill my sisters,” the note read, according to the affidavit.
“I love you. This is awful. Im so sorry. I love u. Please stay alive and heal. you can. you are strong enough. [F—] them for pushing us so far. you dont deserve this. Im so sorry for lying and plotting and lying. Please survive [7 hearts],” it read.
In addition to his initial intention of killing Hegseth or Johnson, English told police he considered burning down the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
English said that he surveilled the Capitol grounds and figured he would have to kill at least three police officers in order to get to Bessent. English “expressed acceptance and content with the possibility of suicide by cop,” the affidavit said.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem is hitting the ground running…
Shortly after being confirmed to the Cabinet position, Noem joined an immigration enforcement raid in New York City on Tuesday, and saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers bust “dirtbags” in the sanctuary city.
“Just now. Enforcement operation in NYC. Criminal alien with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges is now in custody – thanks to @ICE,” Noem said on X alongside a video of an arrest.
“Dirtbags like this will continue to be removed from our streets.”
A DHS spokesperson said the dawn operation targeted “murderers, kidnappers, and individuals charged of assault and burglary.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Justice Department were also cooperating with ICE. Among the arrests was a Dominican National wanted on an Interpol Red Notice for a double homicide in the DR. He fled to the United States. The operation is expected to continue through Friday.
ICE said on Monday that it had made 1,179 arrests in a single day, and had issued 853 detainers – requests that illegal immigrants in custody be turned over to ICE on release. New York City is one of a number of “sanctuary” cities that do not cooperate with ICE detainers, although Mayor Eric Adams has softened that stance in recent months, saying he is prepared to work with ICE on deporting violent criminals.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is holding her first press conference on Tuesday, the first of President Donald Trump’s second administration.
Leavitt is the youngest person to ever hold her position at just 27 years old. The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room was home to plenty of clashes during Trump’s first term where Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany all served as press secretaries.
Leavitt was announced as press secretary for the new administration in November after serving as spokesperson for Trump’s campaign and his transition.
“I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again,” Trump wrote when announcing Leavitt’s position.
