In his inauguration speech, President Donald Trump pledged to "end the policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life."

Trump is already making good on that promise, as can be seen from an order aimed at purging diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Trump: FAA under Biden "betrayed its mission"

According to the Daily Mail, that directive came in the form of a memo released on Tuesday titled, "Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation."

It complained that the FAA "betrayed its mission by elevating dangerous discrimination over excellence" with "illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring."

Specifically, the memo alleged that hiring "on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence."

"For example, prior to my Inauguration, the FAA Diversity and Inclusion website revealed that the prior administration sought to specifically recruit and hire individuals with serious infirmities that could impact the execution of their essential life-saving duties," it continued.

Aviation attorney welcomes changes

The memo thus directed the FAA and secretary of Transportation "to immediately return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring, as required by law. "

"All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication," it stressed.

Newsweek noted that Tuesday's announcement was welcomed by critics the way that the FAA handled staffing under former President Joe Biden.

One of them is aviation attorney Erin Applebaum, who told Newsweek, "Politics has no place in aviation safety because there is no margin for error when lives are at stake."

Lawyer: FAA must hire "the best professionals"

"The Trump FAA must ensure that the best professionals are brought into the FAA while at the same time ensuring that all employment processes are free from unlawful discrimination," she insisted.

"The FAA's most important priorities are the advancement of aviation safety and the prevention of air disasters," Applebaum pointed out.

Trump directed the termination of all diversity-based hires at the aviation watchdog. https://t.co/bgXicpGQke

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 23, 2025

"Successfully achieving those priorities requires ensuring that the FAA is staffed by highly qualified and capable professionals," the attorney went on to add.