The White House said it fired a National Transportation Safety Board member after reports emerged that he drank on the job and harassed staff, but Todd Inman flatly denied the accusations on Monday and said he planned to fight back.
Inman revealed on Sunday that he was fired on Friday without explanation, although his term on the board was supposed to last until the end of 2027. President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday it believed the firings were justified.
“The White House legally removed Todd Inman from the NTSB following highly concerning reports of inappropriate drinking on the job, harassment of employees, misuse of government resources, and failure to attend at least half of NTSB meetings,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “The Trump Administration remains committed to keeping Americans safe in the air and on the ground.”
Inman said Monday that he initially had no plans to sue over his firing, but now says, “I look forward to defending my reputation through all legal means possible.”
“I categorically deny the allegations made in the White House statement. It is increasingly clear that this action is a political hit,” said Inman, a Republican who was appointed in March 2024 during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
The National Transportation Safety Board currently lists just three members on its website following Inman’s firing and the unexpected firing in May of Democratic Vice Chairman Alvin Brown, a Biden appointee. But the U.S. Senate recently confirmed American Airlines executive John DeLeeuw, who will become the fourth member of a commission investigating major plane, train, automobile accidents and pipeline incidents. The NTSB is currently investigating more than 1,000 cases and will make recommendations on how to prevent similar tragedies when it releases its final report.
The National Transportation Safety Board declined to comment on Inman’s firing.
Inman was a key board member at a mid-air collision near Washington, D.C., last year when a passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter, killing 67 people. He also oversaw the preliminary investigation into the November crash of a UPS cargo plane in Kentucky that killed 15 people.
Before last year, it was extremely rare for independent agency board members to be fired. However, Trump has fired members of the Federal Reserve Board, Surface Transportation Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, clearing the way for his own appointees.
The five members of the NTSB are supposed to be composed of three members from the president’s party and two members from the other party. After Inman is fired and DeLeeu joins, the board will be evenly split 2-2 between the two parties, and Trump will be able to appoint a third Republican.
Brown and Robert Primus, who had served on the Surface Transportation Board, were the only Black board members overseeing their separate agencies when they were fired last year. Both men are challenging their dismissals in court, with legal services group Democracy Forward bringing discrimination charges on their behalf.
