JD Vance retracts DEI slur after final Washington crash pilot’s name is released

Now that the army has released the name of the final pilot in last week’s deadly plane crash, vice-president JD Vance has been forced to walk back claims that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies were to blame – described by many as a “slur” against those involved.

Since the crash, Vance and President Trump have repeatedly claimed that DEI policies led to staffing storages among air traffic controllers, leading to the crash between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter in Washington D.C which killed 67 people.

However, no air traffic controllers on duty during the crash have been named and the Army has released the names of the three people on board the helicopter: Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara, and Captain Rebecca Lobach.

JD Vance has since been cagey about directly blaming DEI, telling Fox News: “This is not saying that the person who was at the controls is a DEI hire.”

“But let’s just say, first of all, we should investigate everything, but let’s just say the person at the controls didn’t have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons.”

Despite the administration’s claims, there is no evidence DEI policies led to a staffing shortage or indirectly caused the crash.

But this hasn’t stopped people from seizing on DEI as the reason behind the crash and spreading misinformation that a decorated trans service member was responsible for the disaster.

Posts on social media claimed that Jo Ellis was the pilot of the helicopter involved in the crash, as the army had not yet released Lobach’s name then, leading to Ellis having to make a statement on Facebook to debunk the claims.

She wrote: “It’s insulting to the victims and families of those lost and they deserve better than this BS from the bots and trolls of the internet.”

Join us for my exclusive tomorrow w @VP @SundayFutures @FoxNews 10am et + #live w @LeeMZeldin @SenJohnBarrasso @RealTomHoman pic.twitter.com/WTrvaHhe35

— Maria Bartiromo (@MariaBartiromo) February 1, 2025

Who was Rebecca Lobach?

Captain Lobach was identified as the third pilot in the crash by the army on Saturday (1 February).

The decision to release her name came “at the request of and in coordination with the family,” according to the statement. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives,” her family said.

“Rebecca was a warrior and would not hesitate to defend her country in battle … Rebecca was many things. She was a daughter, sister, partner, and friend. She was a servant, a caregiver, an advocate. Most of all she loved and was loved. Her life was short, but she made a difference in the lives of all who knew her.”

She was in the top 20% of army cadets nationwide and accumulated several awards for her service.

A native of Durham, North Carolina, Lobach was commissioned in 2019 as an active-duty aviation officer.

Lobach had logged over 500 hours of flight time, considered a normal amount, while fellow pilot Eaves had logged over 1,000 hours of flight time and was considered very experienced.

The three soldiers were on a training flight out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia at the time of the accident.

Their distinguished careers are at odds with Trump’s suggestion that DEI practices could be to blame for the collision, backed up by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who previously condemned “women in combat roles”.

Many MAGA activists have since been pointing the finger at Lobach as the cause of the crash, but the President has not made any further comment since her name was released.

No official cause of the crash has been named, and the investigation is ongoing.