White House says it fired NTSB member over misconduct but Todd Inman denies the allegations

The White House said it fired a National Transportation Safety Board subordinate aft reports of drinking connected the occupation and harassing staff, but Todd Inman flatly denied the allegations Monday and said helium plans to combat back.

Inman revealed Sunday that helium had been fired connected Friday without explanation, though his word connected the committee was expected to proceed done the extremity of 2027. President DonaldTrump's medication said Monday that it believes the firing is justified.

“The White House lawfully removed Todd Inman from the NTSB aft receiving highly concerning reports of inappropriate intoxicant usage connected the job, harassment of staff, misuse of authorities resources, and nonaccomplishment to be astatine slightest fractional of NTSB meetings," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. "The Trump medication remains committed to maintaining information and information for Americans successful the aerial and connected the ground.”

Inman said Monday that helium hadn't initially planned to writer implicit his firing, but present says, “I look guardant to defending my estimation done each ineligible means possible.”

“I categorically contradict the allegations made successful the White House statement. It has go progressively evident this enactment was a governmental deed job,” said Inman, a Republican who was appointed successful March 2024 during erstwhile President Joe Biden’s administration.

After Inman's firing and the unexpected dismissal successful May of Vice Chair Alvin Brown, a Democrat appointed by Biden, the NTSB presently lists lone 3 members connected its website. But the U.S. Senate precocious confirmed American Airlines enforcement John DeLeeuw, and helium volition go the 4th subordinate of the committee that investigates large crashes of planes, trains and automobiles arsenic good arsenic pipeline incidents. The NTSB is presently investigating much than 1,000 cases and volition marque recommendations connected however to forestall akin tragedies erstwhile it releases its last reports.

“President Trump has made wide that restoring an accountable authorities workforce is simply a apical precedence of his Administration. The NTSB has upheld this modular since we were established successful 1967,” a spokesperson for the bureau said successful a statement. “The NTSB’s workforce upholds the highest nonrecreational standards, is simply a liable guardian of nationalist resources, and safeguards the integrity of its investigations.”

Inman was the pb committee subordinate connected country aft past year's midair collision adjacent Washington, D.C., that killed 67 radical aft an airliner collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. He besides oversaw the archetypal probe of the clang of a UPS cargo level successful Kentucky that killed 15 radical successful November.

Before past year, it was highly antithetic for committee members astatine autarkic agencies to beryllium dismissed. However, Trump has fired members of the Surface Transportation Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to wide the mode for his ain appointees. He besides tried to region Federal Reserve politician Lisa Cook, but she has been warring that and the courts person allowed her to stay connected the job.

The five-member NTSB is expected to beryllium divided betwixt 3 members of the president's enactment and 2 members of the different party. After Inman's firing and the summation of DeLeeuw, the committee volition beryllium divided evenly, 2-2, betwixt the parties, and Trump volition beryllium capable to name a 3rd Republican.

Brown and Robert Primus, who served connected the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, were the lone Black committee members overseeing their respective autarkic agencies erstwhile they were fired past year. Both person challenged their firings successful court, and the ineligible services radical Democracy Forward has filed favoritism claims connected the men's behalf.

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This communicative was archetypal published connected Mar. 9, 2026. It was updated connected Mar. 10, 2026, to close that President Donald Trump had tried to occurrence Federal Reserve politician Lisa Cook, but the courts person allowed her to enactment connected the occupation arsenic she fights the termination.

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