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Trump Reveals Safety Check on Air Force One Amid Census Overhaul Plans
Developing
In Short: President Donald Trump disclosed a safety check on Air Force One, while his administration proposes significant changes to the 2030 census, aiming to exclude some immigrants and remove questions on race.
According to reports, the door of Marine One remained closed as of 2:19 p.m., fueling questions about whether the safety check had disrupted the president's travel plans. The door is opposite the entrance Trump typically uses to board the plane, and it was not immediately clear whether the safety check would affect his next flight.
The Trump administration's proposal to overhaul the census, which includes leaving out millions of people without legal status, has been backed by Republican lawmakers and supported by GOP-controlled states filing lawsuits. Census advocates are concerned that these changes, even if not ultimately implemented, could dampen public participation, particularly among Latino residents.
The administration's plan also includes using a survey form with a citizenship question, which the bureau's research suggests could hurt the count's accuracy. Despite these proposals, the Constitution grants the president no final authority over the census.
What's still developing
- President Donald Trump comments on the inspection of an emergency slide aboard Air Force One after arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on ‘America Reports.’ An emergency slide deployment on the Qatari-gifted Air Force One raised questions at Joint Base Andrews (JBA) on Wednesday before President Donald Trump revealed it was all part of a safety check.
- The Trump administration is proposing major changes to how the U.S. government produces census results for the next national head count in 2030.
- The first Trump administration blocked an earlier effort to add a sexual orientation question to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which the Justice Department under Democratic administrations has said is needed, alongside a gender identity question, to generate statistics that could help protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination.
- The proposal comes after President Trump put out a social media post in August 2025 that directed his administration to start work on a "new" census amid a congressional gerrymandering fight that he started.
- As the current Trump administration pushes for census changes, Republican lawmakers in Congress are backing similar proposals to exclude some or all noncitizens in recent years.
Sources
- Roll Calllink