Cruz Fights Washington Elite as Defense Bill Risks Air Safety Rollback

Paul Riverbank, 12/16/2025After a deadly D.C. helicopter crash, senators clash over a defense bill loophole threatening transparency in military flights. As families push for safety, the legislative clock ticks, testing Congress’s resolve to act before another tragedy occurs.

For years, military helicopters slipped quietly over Washington’s airspace, often unseen by civilian radar. Their pilots—sometimes on routine patrols, sometimes ferrying VIPs—took advantage of technical loopholes that allowed them to forgo broadcasting their location signals. Safety experts flagged this as a vulnerability, but it took a tragedy to force the issue: a spiraling collision over the Potomac, just north of Reagan National Airport, which one NTSB official told me “wasn’t just a fluke—it was a warning.”

The FAA responded quickly this winter, ending the exemption. As of springtime, all aircraft, military included, must use ADS-B transponders—essentially digital beacons showing exactly where they are in the crowded D.C. airspace. It seemed, for a moment, that something resembling consensus had been achieved.

But consensus in Washington rarely survives the legislative grinder. This week, buried deep within a must-pass defense policy bill, senators unearthed a provision allowing the military to seek waivers from the new transparency rules. Critics wasted no time. Cruz, flanked by family members still raw from loss, described the exception as “the very sort of carve-out that got us into this mess to begin with.” He accused last-minute negotiators of sneaking the provision in while attention was elsewhere, a practice neither rare nor beloved in Congress.

Amy Hunter, whose cousin died in the crash, barely kept her composure as she spoke to reporters. “We finally got some accountability,” she said, her voice tight with frustration. “And now, we’re right back where we were. If this goes through, it’s like telling us those lives didn’t matter.”

What makes the debate even knottier is the timing. The defense bill isn’t just packed with technical rules about helicopters. It contains salary increases for junior soldiers, key incentives for military recruitment, funds for overseas deployments—the nuts and bolts of American security. Senate leaders privately grumble (one, exasperated, called it “a damn shame”) that opening the bill up at this stage for amendments would send it back to the House. That almost certainly spells delay, possibly into the shutdown territory if a deal isn’t brokered.

With odds stacked against revising the defense bill directly, Cruz and Cantwell have shifted strategies. The plan now is to tie the ROTOR Act—a straightforward bill mandating airspace transparency for all choppers, no exceptions—to the next appropriations package. Time is short; with the continuing resolution set to expire in about a month, anything not nailed down soon risks vanishing into legislative limbo. Still, the move gathers unusual allies. The White House, airline pilots’ unions, crash victims’ families, even NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy are all, for once, in alignment.

For Congress, this is a policy riddle with a bitter human edge. Take the NTSB’s early findings: in the last several years there have been at least 85 close calls involving military helicopters near Reagan National. Most barely made the evening news. For the families who lost relatives in the January crash, they're no mere statistics.

“We’re not asking for the moon,” read a joint letter from the families to House and Senate leaders. “We just want to know that we won’t lose anyone else to the same oversight we endured.”

Yet, no one I’ve spoken to—on or off the record—offers confident predictions about Congress’ next move. More than one staffer admitted the whole situation “makes you nauseous, because you know what’s at stake and how easily things slip through the cracks here.”

With the defense bill almost certainly barreling toward passage, the hope is now pinned to the ROTOR Act’s inclusion in the next spending deal. Whether that’s wishful thinking or a realistic path forward depends on how much political will can be mustered beneath the surface, away from the glare of cameras and microphones.

The final word from investigators isn’t in yet. The NTSB’s full report is due later this year, but sources close to the inquiry already point to systemic breakdowns that were “years in the making,” not tragedies of chance. The hard truth is that real safety reforms in Washington, like aircraft signals, are easiest to see in hindsight—when the damage has already been done.

In the end, the families’ question lingers: Will Congress honor hard lessons paid for in blood, or surrender to inertia? For now, the answer’s stuck somewhere between hope and gridlock, with time quickly running out.

News that swirled around Capitol Hill this week rarely lingered for long, but the devastating crash that claimed the lives of 67 people near Washington, D.C., in January found a way to keep its grip. The shadow it cast stretched through the marbled halls, cutting through the usual swirl of appropriations talk and partisan haggling—especially after grieving families, clutching photos of their lost loved ones, joined Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell on the steps outside.For years, military helicopters slipped quietly over Washington’s airspace, often unseen by civilian radar. Their pilots—sometimes on routine patrols, sometimes ferrying VIPs—took advantage of technical loopholes that allowed them to forgo broadcasting their location signals. Safety experts flagged this as a vulnerability, but it took a tragedy to force the issue: a spiraling collision over the Potomac, just north of Reagan National Airport, which one NTSB official told me “wasn’t just a fluke—it was a warning.”The FAA responded quickly this winter, ending the exemption. As of springtime, all aircraft, military included, must use ADS-B transponders—essentially digital beacons showing exactly where they are in the crowded D.C. airspace. It seemed, for a moment, that something resembling consensus had been achieved.But consensus in Washington rarely survives the legislative grinder. This week, buried deep within a must-pass defense policy bill, senators unearthed a provision allowing the military to seek waivers from the new transparency rules. Critics wasted no time. Cruz, flanked by family members still raw from loss, described the exception as “the very sort of carve-out that got us into this mess to begin with.” He accused last-minute negotiators of sneaking the provision in while attention was elsewhere, a practice neither rare nor beloved in Congress.Amy Hunter, whose cousin died in the crash, barely kept her composure as she spoke to reporters. “We finally got some accountability,” she said, her voice tight with frustration. “And now, we’re right back where we were. If this goes through, it’s like telling us those lives didn’t matter.”What makes the debate even knottier is the timing. The defense bill isn’t just packed with technical rules about helicopters. It contains salary increases for junior soldiers, key incentives for military recruitment, funds for overseas deployments—the nuts and bolts of American security. Senate leaders privately grumble (one, exasperated, called it “a damn shame”) that opening the bill up at this stage for amendments would send it back to the House. That almost certainly spells delay, possibly into the shutdown territory if a deal isn’t brokered.With odds stacked against revising the defense bill directly, Cruz and Cantwell have shifted strategies. The plan now is to tie the ROTOR Act—a straightforward bill mandating airspace transparency for all choppers, no exceptions—to the next appropriations package. Time is short; with the continuing resolution set to expire in about a month, anything not nailed down soon risks vanishing into legislative limbo. Still, the move gathers unusual allies. The White House, airline pilots’ unions, crash victims’ families, even NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy are all, for once, in alignment.For Congress, this is a policy riddle with a bitter human edge. Take the NTSB’s early findings: in the last several years there have been at least 85 close calls involving military helicopters near Reagan National. Most barely made the evening news. For the families who lost relatives in the January crash, they're no mere statistics.“We’re not asking for the moon,” read a joint letter from the families to House and Senate leaders. “We just want to know that we won’t lose anyone else to the same oversight we endured.”Yet, no one I’ve spoken to—on or off the record—offers confident predictions about Congress’ next move. More than one staffer admitted the whole situation “makes you nauseous, because you know what’s at stake and how easily things slip through the cracks here.”With the defense bill almost certainly barreling toward passage, the hope is now pinned to the ROTOR Act’s inclusion in the next spending deal. Whether that’s wishful thinking or a realistic path forward depends on how much political will can be mustered beneath the surface, away from the glare of cameras and microphones.The final word from investigators isn’t in yet. The NTSB’s full report is due later this year, but sources close to the inquiry already point to systemic breakdowns that were “years in the making,” not tragedies of chance. The hard truth is that real safety reforms in Washington, like aircraft signals, are easiest to see in hindsight—when the damage has already been done.In the end, the families’ question lingers: Will Congress honor hard lessons paid for in blood, or surrender to inertia? For now, the answer’s stuck somewhere between hope and gridlock, with time quickly running out.