| | | |  | | By Sam Ogozalek and Chris Marquette | With help from Alex Guillén and Oriana Pawlyk
| | — Federal accident investigators began to piece together the last moments before a U.S. military helicopter and passenger jet collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. — The FAA imposed flight restrictions for helicopters around the airport, with limited exceptions, as questions mounted over the Army craft’s role in the collision. — Sen. Ted Cruz said the helicopter’s pilot may have been looking at the wrong plane before the incident, though he stressed that nothing was confirmed. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. We’re glad you’re here. Send tips, feedback and song lyrics to Sam at sogozalek@politico.com, Chris at cmarquette@politico.com and Oriana at opawlyk@politico.com and follow us at @SamOgozalek, @ChrisMarquette_ and @Oriana0214. “Drivin’ on 9/ You could be a shadow/ Beneath the street light/ Behind my home.” Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | INVESTIGATORS DIG IN: The NTSB provided fresh details over the weekend that illuminated some aspects of the deadly Wednesday night collision between a jet and an Army helicopter above the Potomac River — but the new disclosures also sparked additional questions. One key takeaway: the regional American Airlines plane appears to have tried to pull up moments before impact, Oriana and Sam report. — As well, the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the probe, said that the jet was flying at roughly 325 feet when the helicopter hit it. That’s above an altitude cap of 200 feet for the route the military craft was using. At the same time, preliminary data suggest that air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were operating with radar scope data showing that the helicopter was flying at an altitude of 200 feet — though NTSB investigator Brice Banning emphasized that this data has “less fidelity,” and the independent agency plans to dig into the apparent discrepancy further. BREAKING IT DOWN: Sam and Chris have a guide on five key issues to watch as investigators continue to probe the collision. DUFFY TAKES ACTION: DOT Secretary Sean Duffy announced Friday a new prohibition for helicopters around the airport. A map can be found here. The restrictions exempt flights for: lifesaving medical support; “active” law enforcement and air defense purposes; and presidential transport. The ban will remain in place until the NTSB completes its preliminary investigation into the crash. Oriana has the details here.
| | HELICOPTER MISTAKE?: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, in a podcast published Friday said it’s a “reasonable inference” that the helicopter pilot may have been looking at the wrong plane — though nothing has been verified yet. Air traffic control had asked the Black Hawk for visual confirmation of the jet, which the pilot gave. But instead of going behind the plane as instructed, it appeared to go in front of it, said Cruz, who was briefed by the NTSB and FAA. “We shouldn’t get ahead of the evidence,” though, he stressed, Ben Leonard reports. — Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the ranking member on Commerce, in a CNN appearance Friday called the NTSB a “North Star” and said that “whatever they say, that’s what we should do.” She said the FAA may need a bigger safety office to address airport issues, comparing it to changes at NASA following the 1986 Challenger disaster. DEI NOT TO BLAME: House Transportation Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) told Chris that diversity efforts at the FAA did not play a role in the crash: “I don’t think it had anything to do with this particular accident.” Graves said he has concerns about “DEI” at transportation agencies, including the FAA — but those have been long-standing worries. His comments are a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump, who after the disaster quickly sought to pin the blame on DEI. — In a statement Friday, Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, without directly mentioning Trump’s DEI claims pushed back on them, saying that controllers must complete rigorous training — and the standards are not based on race or gender. He said NATCA is committed to working with Trump to recruit “the best and brightest” and to address issues like pay, benefits and stress on the job. SEARCH EFFORTS CONTINUE: Authorities have positively identified 55 of the 67 presumed victims of the crash, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said at a news conference Sunday. Salvage crews have continued to survey the site so they can recover the aircraft from the river. Two runways at Reagan National (not the main north-south one) remained closed as of Friday afternoon, Terry Liercke, its manager, told reporters. SOLDIERS IDENTIFIED: The Army has confirmed who the helicopter’s three soldiers were: Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland; and Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, North Carolina. More information about the service members can be found here and here. SYSTEM GOES DOWN: The FAA’s primary NOTAM system experienced an outage Saturday. It’s unclear how long it lasted, but the agency around 11 a.m. Sunday said it was back online. Regulators had activated a contingency system and there were no operational impacts to the national airspace, according to the FAA. The agency said it is investigating the cause of the disruption. — In a Sunday appearance on Fox News, Duffy called it an “old, antiquated system.” “It has to be upgraded. That’s in the works. It has been in the works for years. We have to rush this new system online,” he said. Later in the day, Elon Musk replied to an X post about the outage: “The @DOGE software team might be able to help. Will reach out.”
| | GRIM PREDICTIONS: Flavio Volpe, president of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, told Doug Palmer that Trump’s new 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods will hammer the North American auto sector. “The industry will shut down in the U.S. and Canada and Mexico within a week, much like we saw it happen during the first phase of the pandemic and the Ambassador Bridge blockade,” said Volpe, who also serves on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Council on Canada-U.S. Relations.
| | AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS EXEMPTED: During a Sunday interview with CNN, Duffy said controllers are not subject to Trump’s recent federal hiring freeze. And “critical” safety positions at DOT are not getting early retirement offers, he said. MAJOR RULING: A federal judge in Rhode Island has issued a broad block on Trump’s attempt to halt a swath of spending, saying it is likely unconstitutional. In a 13-page order Friday afternoon, Judge John McConnell said that, until further notice, the administration can’t “pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate ... obligations to provide federal financial assistance to states” except on the basis of “the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms,” Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein report. CELEBRATIONS END: In a Saturday evening X post, Duffy said DOT will “no longer participate in celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances.” The move came after the Defense Department said it would stop recognizing cultural awareness months like those for Pride and Black and women’s history. OVER A DOZEN APPOINTEES: DOT on Friday announced a slew of political appointees, including an acting PHMSA administrator. Sam has the list here. ICYMI: Former DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg is mulling a possible run for Senate in Michigan, and he has ruled out a bid for governor, Adam Wren reports. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) is not seeking reelection in 2026.
| | DROPPING APPEAL: The Trump administration may not have to defend a Biden-era highway greenhouse gas performance measure after all. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit last week rejected the new administration's request to postpone Feb. 5 arguments over the FHWA rule, which was previously tossed out by a lower court judge. But Trump’s team had another card to play: Dropping the appeal immediately in a Friday afternoon motion.
| | FEW SPECIFICS: Trump’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” or “DOGE,” says 85 DEI contracts have been terminated across the government — including four at the FAA with a “ceiling value” of over $45 million. DOGE provided no further details on what, exactly, these contracts entailed. During his CNN interview Sunday, Duffy said the only “DEI office” at DOT was in the FAA. “That existed up to a week ago. That’s now gone,” he said.
| | CHOPPY WATERS: House Republicans are still struggling to finalize plans for a budget resolution, a key step needed to move forward with Trump’s domestic policy agenda of tax cuts and border security initiatives. GOP members of the House Budget Committee, during a recent call on how to progress, came away with no set date for a markup, and senior Republicans are working to find a consensus, Meredith Lee Hill reports.
| | HEADED BACK TO OHIO: Vice President JD Vance is returning to his home state today to visit East Palestine, Ohio, on the second anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in the rural town.
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