Latest news with #AlvinBrown
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown sues Trump, NTSB over his firing from vice chair post
A former Jacksonville mayor is taking President Donald Trump's administration to court. Alvin Brown filed a lawsuit claiming his removal as the vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board was 'illegal.' Brown was designated as vice chair by former President Joe Biden last year. Brown's lawyers claim that Trump lacked the authority to remove him from the post. According to court documents, Brown was notified of his firing through email. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] He also warned that his removal will have damaging consequences on aircraft investigations and reporting. Also named as defendants in the suit are the NTSB itself and Jennifer Homendy, the Chairman of the NTSB. You can read Brown's lawsuit below: Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown sues Trump, NTSB over his firing from vice chair post by ActionNewsJax on Scribd [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Fired NTSB vice chair sues Trump over removal from office
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - The fired vice chair of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board sued President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying his removal from office was illegal and threatened the independent agency's safety mission. Alvin Brown, a Democrat who was the first-ever African American elected mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, was designated as vice chair in December by then-President Joe Biden after he joined the five-member board in March 2024. Reuters first reported his May 5 removal from office by the White House. Brown's lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington also names the NTSB and NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, seeking a court order to enable him to perform his duties as a board member and "to ensure that the NTSB can resume its congressionally mandated work as Congress intended." The lawsuit added his removal has "significant and damaging consequences for the work of the Board and its investigation and reporting of major transportation accidents and casualties." The NTSB declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The NTSB investigates all civil aviation accidents as well as significant accidents in other modes of transportation - highway, marine, pipeline and railroad - and determines the probable cause and makes safety recommendations. Brown's suit said Trump may remove a board member "only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." A lawyer for Brown, Victoria Nugent, said "at a time when transportation safety is top of mind, we should be strengthening, not weakening, the systems meant to protect all Americans." Since January, Trump has fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission and members of the National Labor Relations Board, Merit Systems Protection Board and Federal Election Commission among others. The U.S. Supreme Court last month allowed Trump's firing of two Democratic members of federal labor boards to remain in effect while their legal challenges proceed, in a dispute that tests his power over independent government agencies. Brown's removal from the NTSB came amid heightened concern about aviation safety following the January 29 mid-air collision of a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab regional jet that killed 67 people. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants tens of billions of dollars from Congress to overhaul U.S. air traffic control and staffing.
Travel Weekly
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Travel Weekly
Trump dismisses vice chair of the NTSB
Alvin Brown, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has been fired, multiple media outlets have reported, citing an anonymous White House official. Alvin Brown Brown, a Democrat who President Biden appointed to the NTSB in March 2024, was named vice chair in December. A former mayor of Jacksonville, Fla., Brown previously was a senior advisor of infrastructure opportunities at the Department of Transportation. Brown is no longer listed on the NTSB website, which now shows four remaining board members. Travel Weekly has asked the White House for comment. The NTSB declined to comment. The move continues President Trump's pattern of dismissing board members of historically independent bipartisan agencies. The NTSB is run by a board of five directors serving five-year terms that overlap presidential administrations. They are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Among the three remaining NTSB board members, three were nominated by Trump during his first term, including chairwoman Jennifer Homendy. The fourth, J. Todd Inman, is Republican who was nominated by Biden. Since beginning his second term, Trump has also removed Democratic members of the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Election Commission and others. The NTSB's function is carrying out investigations of all civil aviation crashes in the U.S. as well as large crashes in other transport modes. The organization's most prominent current case is the Jan. 29 crash near Washington, D.C. of an American Airlines regional jet with an Army Blackhawk helicopter. The crash killed 67 people.
CBS News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump White House fires Biden-appointed vice chair of NTSB
The vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, who was appointed to the post by President Joe Biden late last year, has been fired, a senior White House official confirmed to CBS News. Alvin Brown's ouster happened Tuesday. Brown, a Democrat who was the first African American elected mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, was appointed by Biden as the NTSB's vice chair in December. Brown joined the five-person board earlier in 2024, being sworn in on the same day as Todd Inman, a Republican who was also appointed by Biden. The NTSB is an independent agency with board members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve five-year terms. The president designates the chair and vice chair for three-year terms in those roles. The chair requires a separate Senate confirmation. Brown's firing comes amid other Trump administration dismissals of other Democratic members of independent agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and National Labor Relations Board. Alvin Brown attends an investigative hearing into the blowout of an exit door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in Washington, Aug. 6, 2024. Bryan Olin Dozier/Anadolu via Getty Images The move leaves the NTSB with four board members — Inman along with Chair Jennifer Homendy, Michael Graham and Thomas Chapman — who were all appointed by President Trump during his first term in office. Homendy was appointed as the board's chair by Biden. The NTSB investigates all fatal general aviation accidents, including commercial accidents and incidents, as well as significant accidents across the various modes of transportation as well as pipeline accidents. The board does not have regulatory authority. Instead, it determines the probable cause of those accidents and makes safety recommendations to avoid similar ones in the future. The board is currently investigating a host of aviation accidents, including January's deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., multiple fatal small plane crashes and last year's blowout of an Alaska Airlines door panel midflight. The NTSB declined to comment, directing inquiries to the White House. Brown's departure was first reported by Reuters. contributed to this report.
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
White House removes NTSB vice chair
Alvin Brown, a Democrat who was the first African American elected mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, was designated as vice chair in December by President Joe Biden after he joined the five-member board in March 2024. A White House official confirmed the departure. Brown did not immediately respond to an email to his personal account seeking comment. The NTSB investigates all civil aviation accidents. The board investigates significant accidents in other modes of transportation - highway, marine, pipeline and railroad - and determines the probable cause of accidents and makes safety recommendations. Since January, Trump has fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission and members of the National Labor Relations Board, Merit Systems Protection Board and Federal Election Commission, among others. The departure comes amid heightened concern about aviation safety following the Jan. 29 mid-air collision of a U.S. Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on May 8 will outline a plan to seek billions of dollars from Congress to overhaul U.S. air traffic control and staffing. Other incidents have raised alarm, including a string of equipment and staffing issues at Newark airport that have disrupted hundreds of flights over the last week and prompted United Airlines to cancel 10% of its daily flights from the New Jersey airport. On April 28, controllers handling Newark traffic lost radio contact with airplanes for 30 seconds, Duffy said Monday.
