Pentagon-to-Reagan Airport Hotline Broken Since 2022, FAA Says
A hotline that directly connects the Pentagon to the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport hasn't been operational since March 2022, an US Federal Aviation Administration official said.
The revelation emerged during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday, during which lawmakers pressed the FAA about a recent incident in which two commercial flights were forced to abort landings at the airport because of a nearby US Army Black Hawk helicopter traveling to the Pentagon. The event was especially concerning because it came just a few months after a midair collision between a regional passenger jet and Army helicopter that killed 67 people.
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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pentagon to restore names of 7 more Army bases that honored Confederate generals
President Trump on Tuesday announced the Pentagon will restore the names of the seven remaining military installations formerly named after Confederate generals after two others had been reverted back earlier this year. 'For a little breaking news, we are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Picket, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rutger, Fort Poke and Fort AP Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee,' Trump told attendees at a Fort Bragg, N.C. celebration marking the Army's 250th anniversary. The bases are currently known as Fort Barfoot in Virginia, Fort Cazavos in Texas, Fort Eisenhower in Georgia, Fort Novosel in Alabama, Fort Johnson in Louisiana, Fort Walker in Virginia, and Fort Gregg-Adams, also in Virginia, respectively. 'It's no time to change,' Trump told the crowd. 'And I'm superstitious, you know? I like to keep it going, right?' The promise fulfills a campaign pledge by Trump, who vowed to revert bases back to their original names after a Congressionally mandated commission recommended new titles for nine military bases in 2022. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year ordered the names of two bases, Fort Liberty and Fort Moore, reverted back to Fort Bragg and Fort Benning. Hegseth brought back the original names but said they were being used to honor different individuals and not Confederate generals they were originally named for. In the case of Fort Bragg, it takes its title after Private First Class Roland Bragg, a decorated Army paratrooper who served in World War II, rather than Confederate general Braxton Bragg, who lost several costly Civil War battles before leaving the service to run a sugar plantation that used slaves. Hegseth ordered that change in February. Fort Benning, meanwhile, now pays tribute to Cpl. Fred G. Benning, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during World War I while serving with the U.S. Army in France. The base was originally named for Lt. Gen. Henry Benning, a Confederate general who opposed freeing slaves. The Pentagon chief made that change in March, removing the moniker meant to honor Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife Julie Moore, who committed their lives to the Army and helping military families – most famously through setting up survivor support networks and casualty notification teams still used to this day. The switch overs follow more than five years of political tug of war to rid military installations of names honoring Confederates, starting in late 2020 when the annual defense authorization bill first banned the Defense Department from naming assets after Confederate symbols. At the time, Trump, who was at the end of his first term, vetoed the defense legislation known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) partly over the base-renaming provision, but the veto was overridden by Congress. That was followed by the 2021 NDAA that mandated a commission to recommend new names for the nine military bases, with the installations officially receiving their new titles in ceremonies throughout 2023. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
In his own words: Trump said during 2024 campaign he would use military for immigration enforcement
President Donald Trump in recent days has sent thousands of National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines to quell Los Angeles-area protests over immigration enforcement actions, despite the objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and local leaders. Those troops soon could also be supporting immigration enforcement operations, including by holding secure perimeters around areas where raids are taking place and securing streets for immigration agents. That's according to Paul Eck, deputy general counsel in the California Military Department, who said in a court filing that the agency was informed the Pentagon plans to direct the California National Guard to start providing such support. Those actions would be in line with what Trump pledged during last year's campaign, when as a candidate he promised the largest mass deportation effort the U.S. has seen, and said he would be willing to use military might to make it happen. But Trump has changed his position since his 2020 presidential bid, namely around using the Insurrection Act to send military units to respond to unrest in the states. Here's a look at how Trump has talked about use of the military when it comes to immigration — and how his position evolved — in his own words: 2025: 'If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it' 'If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We'll see. But I can tell you last night was terrible, and the night before that was terrible.' — Trump, Tuesday, to reporters in the Oval Office. ___ During an Oval Office engagement with reporters, Trump left open the possibility of invoking one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a U.S. president. The Insurrection Act authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. It is often referred to as the 'Insurrection Act of 1807,' but the law is actually an amalgamation of different statutes enacted by Congress between 1792 and 1871. In calling up National Guard forces over Newsom's objections, Trump cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' 2024: 'I would have no problem using the military' 'If I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military, per se. We have to have safety in our country. We have to have law and order in our country. And whichever gets us there, but I think the National Guard will do the job.' — Trump, April 30, 2024, interview with Time Magazine. ___ While campaigning in 2024, Trump said he would use the National Guard as part of efforts to deport millions of migrants across the country. He didn't say how he would carry out the operations and what role the National Guard would play, but added he would resort to the military if 'things were getting out of control.' When asked to clarify if he would use the military inland, he said, 'I don't think I'd have to do that. I think the National Guard would be able to do that. If they weren't able to, then I'd use the military.' Trump told Time that he would deport between 15 million and 20 million people who are in the country illegally. The foreign-born population, including immigrants in the country both legally and illegally, was estimated to be 46.2 million, or nearly 14% of the U.S. total, in 2022, according to the Census Bureau, which also reported about 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. After winning the November election, the possible contours of Trump's incoming administration and how it would handle issues, including immigration, began to take greater shape. On Nov. 17, after conservative activist Tom Fitton proclaimed in a social media post that the incoming president 'will declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program,' Trump replied: 'TRUE!!!' On his first day back in office, Trump rolled out a blueprint to beef up security at the southern border in a series of executive orders that began taking effect soon after his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump ordered the government, with Defense Department assistance, to 'finish' construction of the border wall and send troops to the border. He did not say how many would go — leaving it up to the defense secretary — or what their exact role would be. His executive orders suggested the military would help the Department of Homeland Security with 'detention space, transportation (including aircraft), and other logistics services.' Trump directed the defense secretary to come up with a plan to 'seal the borders' and repel 'unlawful mass migration.' 2020: 'There's no reason to ever' make insurrection determination 'We have to go by the laws. We can't move in the National Guard. I can call insurrection, but there's no reason to ever do that.' — Trump, Sept. 15, 2020, in a town hall hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia. ___ Questioned during a 2020 election town hall about his campaign promise of restoring law and order, Trump said he could not activate the National Guard unless a governor requested it, referring to the response to wildfires that ravaged Portland in 2020. 'We have laws. We have to go by the laws. We can't move in the National Guard. I can call insurrection, but there's no reason to ever do that,' he said. 'Even in a Portland case, we can't call in the National Guard unless we're requested by a governor. If a governor or a mayor is a Democrat, like in Portland, we call them constantly.' That reference wasn't explicitly to immigration, but it was referring to Trump's willingness to overrule a state's governor and federalize National Guard resources. ___ Kinnard can be reached at
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Trump orders names restored to Army bases honoring Confederate leaders
President Trump announced on Tuesday that he will restore the original names of seven military bases honoring Confederate officers. Why it matters: The move reverses a renaming that began under former President Biden, efforts that sought to honor military figures of color and to cease the government's commemoration of pro-slavery figures. Driving the news: Trump made the announcement during a visit to North Carolina's Fort Bragg. "We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee," he said. "We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It's no time to change. And I'm superstitious, you know? I like to keep it going." Zoom in: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum to reverse the name of Fort Bragg in February, which had been rechristened as the Fort Liberty Army base in 2023. The base was originally named after a Confederate general, Braxton Bragg, though the new name commemorated a different Bragg — Roland L. Bragg, a World War II veteran, according to the Pentagon. Flashback: The Naming Commission recommended nine different Army bases for redesignation, completing the project in 2023.
