The White House said it fired a National Transportation Safety Board member after reports of drinking on the job and harassing staff, but Todd Inman flatly denied the allegations Monday and said he plans to fight back.
Inman revealed Sunday that he had been fired on Friday without explanation, though his term on the board was supposed to continue through the end of 2027. President Trump’s administration said Monday that it believes the firing is justified.
“The White House lawfully removed Todd Inman from the NTSB after receiving highly concerning reports of inappropriate alcohol use on the job, harassment of staff, misuse of government resources, and failure to attend at least half of NTSB meetings,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “The Trump administration remains committed to maintaining safety and security for Americans in the air and on the ground.”
Inman said Monday that he hadn’t initially planned to sue over his firing, but now says, “I look forward to defending my reputation through all legal means possible.”
“I categorically deny the allegations made in the White House statement. It has become increasingly obvious this action was a political hit job,” said Inman, a Republican who was appointed in March 2024 during former President Biden’s administration.
After Inman’s firing and the unexpected dismissal in May of Vice Chair Alvin Brown, a Democrat appointed by Biden, the NTSB lists only three members on its website. But the U.S. Senate recently confirmed American Airlines executive John DeLeeuw, and he will become the fourth member of the board that investigates major crashes of planes, trains and automobiles as well as pipeline incidents. The NTSB is currently investigating more than 1,000 cases and will make recommendations on how to prevent similar tragedies when it releases its final reports.
“President Trump has made clear that restoring an accountable government workforce is a top priority of his Administration. The NTSB has upheld this standard since we were established in 1967,” a spokesman for the agency said in a statement. “The NTSB’s workforce upholds the highest professional standards, is a responsible guardian of public resources, and safeguards the integrity of its investigations.”
Inman was the lead board member on scene after last year’s midair collision near Washington that killed 67 people after an airliner collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. He also oversaw the initial investigation of the crash of a UPS cargo plane in Kentucky that killed 15 people in November.
Before last year, it was extremely unusual for board members at independent agencies to be dismissed. However, Trump has fired members of the Federal Reserve Board, the Surface Transportation Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to clear the way for his own appointees.
The five-member NTSB is supposed to be split among three members of the president’s party and two members of the other party. After Inman’s firing and the addition of DeLeeuw, the board will be split evenly, 2-2, between the parties, and Trump will be able to appoint a third Republican.
Brown and Robert Primus, who served on the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, were the only Black board members overseeing their respective independent agencies when they were fired last year. Both have challenged their firings in court, and the legal services group Democracy Forward has filed discrimination claims on the men’s behalf.
Funk writes for the Associated Press.
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