12:30 Report

12:30 Report — Plane crash latest; 3 controversial Trump picks testify

by Cate Martel 01/30/25 01:21 PM ET

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12:30 REPORT

It’s an unbelievably sad Thursday in Washington, D.C. In this edition:

Plane crash latest: DCA reopens, no survivors found.
Trump blame plane collision on DEI practices.
Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr., and Kash Patel testify.
“Squid Game” announces Season 3 premiere.

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips & feedback to cmartel@digital-stage.thehill.com. Someone forward this to you? Sign up.

✈️ Flight 5342

This is devastating:

Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) has reopened after an American Airlines passenger plane and an Army helicopter collided less than a mile from the airport.

President Trump just addressed the nation on the crash.

His message began with unity, telling the country that “we are one family, and today we all heartbroken, we are all searching for answers,” Trump said. “That icy, icy Potomac was a cold, cold night, cold water.”

But then he quickly shifted to partisan blame: “I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen,” Trump said. He then blamed the plane crash on DEI practices.

He bashed the last Transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, calling his leadership “a disaster.” “He’s just got a good line of bulls—,” Trump said, swearing on national television.

📹 Watch Trump’s remarks

💬 Follow today’s live blog

Hegseth grounded the Army battalion: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he has grounded the Army battalion involved in the helicopter that crashed into a passenger plane. 📹 Watch Hegseth’s video

➤ HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW:

Were there any survivors?: No survivors have been found. Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly said operations switched this morning from a rescue mission to a recovery effort. At least 28 bodies have been recovered so far.

How many people were on board?: The jet was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. Three people were on board the helicopter.

Several ice skaters were on the jet: U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement that “several members of our skating community were sadly onboard” the flight. The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian-born figure skating world champions Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the flight.

Did the aircraft veer off course?: No, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the jet and the helicopter were both flying “in a standard pattern.”

The White House’s reaction: Trump called it a “terrible night” and speculated that it could have been prevented. “It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn,” he wrote in a social media post.

➤ IMAGES FROM THE POTOMAC:

The Kennedy Center caught the explosion on its webcam: 📹 The captured footage

I have never seen so many emergency vehicles: Here’s📹 video footage of the emergency vehicles arriving at the scene. 📹 And from another angle

📸 An image of the wreckage: 📸 And more photos. Warning: They’re graphic.

🎙️ Listen to the air traffic control audio moments before and after the crash

From an aviation correspondent: CNN’s Pete Muntean gave some context to the incident. “I’m stumbling over my words here b/c this is just so staggering,” Muntean says. 📹 Watch his analysis

Footage from a diverted flight: A passenger set to land at DCA posted footage of passengers all live watching news coverage from their flight. 📹 Footage from a diverted plane

📹 From a nearby apartment

First responders honored the victims: Fox 5 DC’s Jacqueline Matter 📹 posted a video of first responders draping a flag over an unidentified victim.

📹 The scene this morning

📸 A crowd gathered at Daingerfield Island, near the crash site.

Now that’s quite the lineup:

Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Kash Patel, three of President Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees, are appearing simultaneously for their Senate confirmation hearings this morning.

💻 Livestream of Gabbard’s hearing

💻 Livestream of Patel’s hearing

💻 Livestream of Kennedy’s second day of questioning

➤ HEARING HIGHLIGHTS:

Would Kennedy assure mothers that vaccines don’t cause autism?: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) questioned him about this. Kennedy wouldn’t say “yes” or “no” and said he wants to see more data.

Patel’s subtle shot at Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons: “I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement,” he told Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

Gabbard slammed claims about her: “Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience, and the Constitution of the United States, accusing me of being [President Trump’s] puppet, [Russian President Vladimir Putin’s] puppet, [Bashar Assad’s] puppet, a guru’s puppet, [Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s] puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters,” Gabbard said.

Patty Murray questioned Kennedy over sexual assault claims: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) brought up accusations that Kennedy sexually harassed and assaulted a young woman working for him as a part-time babysitter. Kennedy denied the claims and said the “story has been debunked.”

Patel pledges not to abuse his power: “If confirmed as the next FBI director, I will remain focused on the FBI core mission that is to investigate fully wherever there is a constitutional factual basis to do so, and to never make a prosecutorial decision,” Patel said.

📹 Watch Kennedy and Cheryl Hines arrive

📹 Watch Gabbard arrive

➤ A NEW DEVELOPMENT:

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), advanced out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning as Trump’s nominee for U.N. ambassador.

➤ GABBARD GOT A KEY ENDORSEMENT THIS MORNING:

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) announced his support of Gabbard’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence. More from his “Fox & Friends” interview

➤ ➤ A MOMENT OF LEVITY:

CNN’s Haley Britzky 📸 posted an adorable photo of a dog at the Pentagon today. Or should I say, the newest ✌️Pentagon intern✌️

➤ MORE READS:

The New York Times: Trump Kicks Congress to the Curb, With Little Protest From Republicans
The Hill: Trump’s Milley retribution sends chilling signal to military brass, critics say
The Wall Street Journal: FBI Overhaul Off to a Rocky Start as Kash Patel Prepares to Defend His Vision
The Washington Post: Musk team’s push to gut federal workforce bypassed key Trump officials
New York Magazine: Did Backlash Really Kill the Trump Funding Freeze?

🐝 Internet Buzz

🥐 Celebrate: Today is National Croissant Day!

📺 The next season of ‘Squid Game’!: Netflix announced that the third and final season of “Squid Game” will premiere June 27.

☀️⛄ Let’s rank the groundhogs: “A new NOAA study ranking groundhogs’ weather-predicting abilities finds Staten Island Chuck is the most accurate groundhog in the nation. Punxsutawney Phil is in 17th place, correct just 35% of the time.” (h/t Pluribus News’s Reid Wilson)

🎤 Interesting read: The Washington Post’s Chris Richards has an interesting column, “Chappell Roan keeps recalculating the price of fame.”

📆 On The Agenda

The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump and Vice President Vance are in Washington. (all times Eastern)

1:30 p.m.: Trump and Vance have lunch together.
3 p.m.: Trump signs executive orders.

👋 And Finally…

Because it’s been a tough morning and we could all use a bit of cheer, watch Sadie the golden retriever show us her range of emotions.

Stay Engaged

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