Trump Policy on FAA Employment

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the issue's role in campaign politics.   In the 2016 campaign, a number of posts discussed Trump's bad record on disability issues more generally.   As his words and actions have shown, he despises Americans with disabilities.   He told his nephew Fred that severely disabled people -- such as Fred's son -- should "just die."

Sean Michael Newhouse at Government Executive:

Amid a rash of actions to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government, President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a memo that scrutinizes workers with disabilities at the Federal Aviation Administration.

The directive “Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation” said, based on the FAA website, that former President Joe Biden’s administration sought to recruit and hire “individuals with serious infirmities that could impact the execution of their essential life-saving duties.”

The memo directs the FAA “to immediately return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring” and rescind DEI initiatives in hiring. Trump also is requiring the agency to review the performance and performance standards of all employees in “critical safety positions” and replace any who fail to show the necessary proficiency with a “high-capability individual.”

“The Biden FAA specifically recruited and hired individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities, psychiatric issues and complete paralysis over other individuals who sought to work for the FAA,” an accompanying White House fact sheet said.

...
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federal agencies to implement affirmative action plans and policies for individuals with disabilities

Alex Kasprak at Snopes:

The cited FAA text is real, but the implication that the policy is new, or that it stems from efforts that began under U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Biden, was demonstrably false. It has been included on the FAA's website since at least as early as February 2013. It was present during the entirety of the Trump administration, and it remains present at the time of this reporting.

EEOC lists targeted disabilities, including "developmental disabilities, for example, cerebral palsy or autism spectrum disorder;