WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation—today demanded answers from the Trump Administration on Donald Trump’s reckless, dangerously low White House flyover during last week’s Halloween festivities, which frightened local residents, jeopardized safety and likely cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars for no good reason. In her letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought, Duckworth lambasted the group for allowing Trump to pull this irresponsible, expensive vanity stunt in one of the most congested and restricted airspaces in the country—all while the American people struggle to pay higher prices for gas, groceries and health care as a direct result of the President’s disastrous policies.
“The stunt startled residents, prompted 911 calls, forced a ground stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), contributed to more than 200 flight delays and burned taxpayer dollars so President Trump could parade his toy before children trick-or-treating on the South Lawn. For the children on the lawn, perhaps a treat; for everyone else in the National Capital Region (NCR) and across the country, a trick—dangerous, expensive and profoundly unserious,” wrote Duckworth.
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“The recent flyover was presumably flown with DoD operational and training funds—meaning American taxpayers footed the bill. Families are struggling with the cost of gas and groceries, driven up by President Trump’s war of choice against Iran and his chaotic tariffs, and the President has dismissed their concerns as a ‘hoax.’ A serious President would be bringing costs down. This one is busy showing off his toys, putting on full display how wildly out of touch he is with the needs of the American people,” continued Duckworth.
The Senator also slammed the Administration officials for working quickly to allow this dangerous, ego-driven stunt while they show no urgency to lower costs or make our skies safer. Namely, Duckworth cited the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense’s (DoD) ongoing failure to address the urgent safety recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to ensure that a tragedy like the DCA midair collision never happens again.
“When former President Obama likened the President’s gilded White House renovations to a Cheesecake Factory, official White House accounts and a Cabinet Secretary rushed to defend the décor within 48 hours. This Administration moves with urgency when the President’s taste is questioned but with none when the American people struggle with the soaring cost of living or the NTSB warns of a ‘continued and unacceptable risk to public safety,’” Duckworth continued.
To ensure the American people receive an explanation for why their taxpayer money was burned on this reckless stunt, Duckworth is demanding that Hegseth, Bedford and Vought provide a detailed accounting of how the flyover was approved, why so little notice was given, what training objective—if any—it served and how much it cost taxpayers, among other questions.
Full text of the letter can be found below and on Senator Duckworth’s website:
Dear Administrator Bedford, Secretary Hegseth and Director Vought:
I write to demand a full accounting of the two low-altitude flyovers of downtown Washington, D.C., on October 29, 2026, by the luxury Boeing 747 that the Emir of Qatar gifted to Donald Trump, and which the White House insists on calling “Air Force One” even when President Donald Trump is standing on the ground watching it. The stunt startled residents, prompted 911 calls, forced a ground stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), contributed to more than 200 flight delays and burned taxpayer dollars so President Trump could parade his toy before children trick-or-treating on the South Lawn. For the children on the lawn, perhaps a treat; for everyone else in the National Capital Region (NCR) and across the country, a trick—dangerous, expensive and profoundly unserious.
Flight-tracking data show the aircraft made two passes over the White House between roughly 400 and 1,000 feet and, according to videos, the aircraft flew near or below the top of the Washington Monument (555 feet). In the most restricted airspace in the country, this dangerous stunt was below the minimum safe altitude required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of every civil aircraft over a congested area under 14 CFR § 91.119. The D.C. Council reported that downtown D.C., the Pentagon and DCA received just 15 minutes’ notice; AlertDC did not warn residents until 5:24 p.m.; airlines reportedly had less than an hour; and, Administrator Bedford, the FAA has declined to say when it first learned of the flyover. Residents who lived through September 11, 2001, when a hijacked airliner struck the Pentagon, dialed 911 fearing an attack. The White House insisted the flyover “brought joy and excitement.” Tell that to the people who called 911.
It is a disgraceful dereliction of duty that dishonors the memories of the passengers, crew and servicemembers that were killed on January 29, 2025, for the FAA and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to spend finite time making the airspace around DCA less safe for an evening when neither agency has closed out the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) recommendations following the January 29, 2025, midair collision that claimed 67 lives. The FAA has closed only three of the 35 recommendations the NTSB directed to it; 11 directed to DoD remain open; the NTSB has deemed 11 FAA responses “unacceptable”; and more than 600 days later there is still no FAA–DoD memorandum of understanding for the NCR airspace. Yet the same agencies found the capacity to coordinate two low passes of a 747 over the White House and impose a ground stop at DCA to do it.
This administration’s track record on flyover coordination in NCR airspace is alarming. On March 28, 2025, only 58 days after the DCA midair collision, a timing miscommunication between Potomac Consolidated TRACON and the DCA tower caused a four-ship formation of U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon trainer jets inbound for a ceremonial flyover at Arlington National Cemetery and departing Delta Air Lines Flight 2983, carrying 131 passengers, to cross paths dangerously closely. Nineteen months later, the same two agencies scrambled a 747 over the White House on fifteen minutes’ notice. When will the Trump administration learn?
The recent flyover was presumably flown with DoD operational and training funds—meaning American taxpayers footed the bill. Families are struggling with the cost of gas and groceries, driven up by President Trump’s war of choice against Iran and his chaotic tariffs, and the President has dismissed their concerns as a “hoax.” A serious President would be bringing costs down. This one is busy showing off his toys, putting on full display how wildly out of touch he is with the needs of the American people.
Last Thursday’s flyover is only the latest in a pattern. Last month, the National Park Service abruptly felled more than 430 trees at the public East Potomac Golf Links for President Trump’s golf-course overhaul. On November 5, the National Capital Planning Commission votes on the President’s 250-foot vanity arch along the DCA approach path. The final plans for the arch do not appear to include the “top grade Military Complex” President Trump claimed to justify his gaudy, unserious plan, and I am still awaiting answers from the FAA and DoD to my September 25, 2026, questions about the President’s flippant use of the military to justify his ego-driven projects. When former President Obama likened the President’s gilded White House renovations to a Cheesecake Factory, official White House accounts and a Cabinet Secretary rushed to defend the décor within 48 hours. This administration moves with urgency when the President’s taste is questioned but with none when the American people struggle with the soaring cost of living or the NTSB warns of a “continued and unacceptable risk to public safety.”
Accordingly, I request written responses to the following questions:
- Secretary Hegseth: On what date did the approval process begin for the October 29, 2026, flyover, who requested the mission, and what did the approval documents state as its purpose? Who was responsible for approving the flyovers? What was the justification for approval? Was the flight logged as a training sortie, and if so, what training objective did it fulfill?
- Administrator Bedford: When was the FAA first notified of the flyovers, and how did that compare to the standard lead time for flyovers in the Flight Restricted Zone? What minimum altitude did the FAA authorize, what altitude did the aircraft actually fly, and was any deviation granted? Was a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued? If so, when? Did anyone at FAA raise safety objections to the flyover? Did FAA evaluate the cost of delays to airlines and passengers?
- Administrator Bedford and Secretary Hegseth: When were the DCA tower, Potomac Consolidated TRACON, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the airlines, and D.C.’s Mayor, Council and emergency management officials notified? Were the post-2009 notification procedures and transparency protocols followed for the flight? Who decided the public would receive only 15 minutes’ notice? How long did the ground stop last, and will you commit that no future ceremonial flyover of the NCR will proceed without at least 48 hours’ public notice?
- Secretary Hegseth, Director Vought and Administrator Bedford: Secretary Hegseth, please provide a complete accounting of the cost to taxpayers—fuel, aircrew, maintenance and any support aircraft. Director Vought, please identify the appropriations accounts charged and any Office of Management and Budget review that applied. Administrator Bedford, please provide the cost of reviewing the flyover and any additional cost borne by the FAA.
- Administrator Bedford and Secretary Hegseth: Please provide the status and projected completion date of each open NTSB recommendation from the January 29, 2025, collision, and of the FAA–DoD memorandum of understanding for the NCR.
Please provide accurate, honest and detailed written responses no later than November 20, 2026. On October 29, 2026, the country got a trick dressed up as a treat—and another reminder that this unserious President is more interested in impressing children with his toys than in meeting the needs of the American people.
