White House accuses ousted transportation official of drinking on the job

The White House provided an explanation for the sudden firing of a Republican member of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Todd Inman, who was the NTSB's initial spokesman on the scene of a deadly January 2025 midair collision over Washington, D.C., was fired two years into a five-year term at President Donald Trump's direction but said he was not given a reason for the dismissal, but the White House provided CBS News with an explanation.

"White House is citing use of alcohol on the job, harassment of staff, misuse of govt resources as reasons Todd Inman removed from National Transportation Safety Board, per @CBSNews [and Emma Nicholson]," posted correspondent Jennifer Jacobs on X. "Inman was the NTSB's initial on-scene spokesman at midair collision in D.C. He said Sunday he hadn't been given reason for dismissal."

Inman, a former Department of Transportation official during Trump's first term, had been appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in March 2024, and he was sworn in the same day as Alvin Brown – who Trump previously fired in May 2025.

"Having been the member on scene for two of the largest aviation incidents in the past two decades, working with all of the impacted families and first responders has made me appreciate how the original mission of the NTSB is more crucial now than ever before," Inman said in a statement. "Witnessing these horrible accidents have undoubtedly taken a toll on me and my family and has changed my perspective in a positive way on how we regulate safety for the traveling public."