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The White House said it removed National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman after receiving reports of misconduct, including inappropriate alcohol use on the job and harassment of staff, while Inman denied the allegations and said he would pursue legal action. Inman, a Republican appointed to the board in March 2024 during the administration of former President Joe Biden, said he was fired Friday without explanation and that his term had been set to continue through the end of 2027.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said the administration believes the firing was justified. “The White House lawfully removed Todd Inman from the NTSB after receiving highly concerning reports of inappropriate alcohol use on the job, harassment of staff, misuse of government resources, and failure to attend at least half of NTSB meetings,” Desai said. Desai added that the Trump administration remains committed to maintaining safety and security “for Americans in the air and on the ground.”
Inman said Monday that he “categorically deny[ies] the allegations made in the White House statement.” He described the firing as a political effort, saying “It has become increasingly obvious this action was a political hit job,” according to the account he gave in response to the White House statement. Inman also said he had not initially planned to sue, but later said, “I look forward to defending my reputation through all legal means possible.”
The NTSB’s response emphasized the agency’s role and professional conduct standards. After Inman’s firing and the earlier dismissal in May of Vice Chair Alvin Brown, the NTSB’s website listed only three members. The board said in a statement that its workforce “upholds the highest professional standards, is a responsible guardian of public resources, and safeguards the integrity of its investigations.”
The agency also said the NTSB currently is investigating more than 1,000 cases and will make recommendations to help prevent similar tragedies when it issues its final reports. Inman had been the lead board member on the scene after a midair collision near Washington, D.C., last year that killed 67 people, and he also oversaw the initial investigation of a UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky in November that killed 15 people.
A spokesman for the NTSB said “The NTSB has upheld this standard since we were established in 1967,” and the agency described its workforce as meeting “the highest professional standards.” With Inman’s removal leaving the board at three members, the administration and the agency also pointed to changes in the board’s membership pipeline: the U.S. Senate recently confirmed American Airlines executive John DeLeeuw, who is expected to become the fourth member of the five-member board.
Under the agency’s structure, the NTSB is supposed to be split between three members of the president’s party and two members of the other party. After Inman’s firing and DeLeeuw’s addition, the board would be split evenly 2-2 between the parties, giving President Donald Trump the ability to appoint a third Republican.
The dismissals also follow a broader pattern of removed independent-agency officials during Trump’s administration. The AP account said it has been extremely unusual for board members at independent agencies to be dismissed in the past, and it listed examples including members of the Surface Transportation Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It also said Trump tried to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, but courts allowed her to remain while she fights the termination, and it noted that Brown and Robert Primus, who previously served on the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, challenged their firings in court; a legal-services group, Democracy Forward, filed discrimination claims on their behalf.