A businessman considered to be a contender to lead the Federal Aviation Administration under President-elect Donald Trump has expressed support for diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and Black Lives Matter, statements show.
Alex Wilcox, the FAA administrator contender, made the remarks as the CEO and co-founder of JSX, a public charter company that he co-founded after helping to launch JetBlue Airways in 1999. Wilcox, who sprinkled donations to Republicans this election cycle, posted images with Trump in November, alongside the caption “MAGA.”
But Wilcox’s past remarks in favor of DEI and Black Lives Matter could place a dent in his chances to be tapped to lead the FAA, an agency within the Transportation Department that oversees the safety and efficiency of civil aviation in the United States. Trump ran on eliminating “Marxist” DEI policies from the government. His allies, including the incoming Department of Government Efficiency leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, are expected to take aim at DEI spending programs that Democrats championed under President Joe Biden.
“Receiving a perfect score for our LGBTQ inclusive workplace policies, practices and benefits from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index is one of the great honors of my 30+ year career in aviation,” Wilcox said in 2020. “We are always looking for passionate individuals from varied backgrounds to join our team, and we believe that our dedication to diversity and inclusion makes us well-rounded leaders in aviation and provides us with a distinct advantage in serving our diverse customers.”
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.S., and it supported Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
On JSX’s website, Wilcox has also embraced the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We are actively listening and learning every day and realize there is still so much work to be done, but we can state very clearly and confidently, without hesitation, that Black Lives Matter and, we stand in solidarity as allies against racism, social injustice, and inequality,” Wilcox previously said in a statement that is still listed on JSX’s website.
Wilcox’s BLM statement touted the company’s DEI programs and an “unconscious bias” training it held for employees as part of its onboarding program. Unconscious bias holds that people come to conclusions based on their subconscious thoughts, and is a core tenet of DEI programs at schools and corporations that hold people are inherently racist, according to the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Tom Jones, the president of the conservative American Accountability Foundation nonprofit group, said it’s important that the next FAA administrator does not support “DEI nonsense.”
“During Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s time at the Transportation Department we saw woke nonsense like taking the ‘men’ out of Notice of Airmen,” Jones said. “America demanded a clean break from DEI in the November election. We cannot have an FAA administrator who is supportive of DEI nonsense at an agency that should be focused on aviation safety.”
Speaking to the Washington Examiner, Republican Senate staffers expressed similar concerns over the potential nomination of Wilcox.
“Any corporate leader who subjected their employees to left-wing DEI policies in 2020 should be immediately disqualified for a role in the Trump administration,” the staffer said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that conservative senators will take a look at Wilcox’s lengthy DEI background, and I suspect they won’t be quiet for long if he’s nominated.”
A second GOP staffer, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, added, “This is ridiculous. We elected Trump because we’re tired of woke nonsense.”
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The Trump-Vance transition did not respond to a request for comment. According to a report, former Louisiana Republican Rep. Garret Graves has also angled to lead the FAA.
“Alex Wilcox is squarely focused on the business of JSX — we have no comment on matters pertaining to appointments for the Federal Aviation Administration and would direct you to President Elect Trump’s transition team,” a spokesperson for Wilcox said.
