Duckworth condemns Trump’s low Halloween flyover, demands answers

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) condemned President Trump’s recent low flyover on Halloween in a Monday letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought.

The flyover occurred last Thursday during the White House’s Halloween party with Air Force One making two low altitude passes around the South Lawn.

An FAA official said the flights were coordinated with the agency.

Duckworth — ranking member of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Space and Innovation — described how the passes by Air Force One “startled residents, prompted 911 calls and forced a ground stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA),” which resulted in more than 200 flight delays.

“For the children on the [South Lawn], perhaps a treat; for everyone else in the National Capital Region (NCR) and across the country, a trick—dangerous, expensive and profoundly unserious,” she wrote.

The Council of D.C. office’s X account confirmed “anyone in downtown DC, at the Pentagon or at National Airport” had been given 15 minutes notice before the flight.

“Residents who lived through September 11, 2001, when a hijacked airliner struck the Pentagon, dialed 911 fearing an attack,” Duckworth continued. “The White House insisted the flyover ‘brought joy and excitement.’ Tell that to the people who called 911.”

She is questioning Bedford, Hegseth and Vought on the approval process taken before the flyover and if proper notification procedures had been followed. She also asked they provide “a complete accounting of the cost to taxpayers.”

“As with all congressional correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the authors,” a Defense Department official told The Hill.

“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,” Duckworth concluded.

The flyovers also come after the 2025 midair collision over the Potomac River, near DCA. An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight when it was seconds away from landing at National Airport. None of the people on board either aircraft survived.

A U.S. army report noted the “most salient contributing factor” was two broken radio transmissions, which resulted in the Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, or PAT 25, not receiving “critical details” from DCA’s air traffic control tower.

OMB did not respond immediately to The Hill’s request for comment.