In a stunning and politically charged statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attempted to pin the blame for Saturday’s Brooklyn Bridge ship collision—which killed two and injured more than a dozen—on President Donald Trump and his administration’s alleged mismanagement of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
The Brooklyn Bridge has a 127 foot clearance. The tallest point on this Mexican Navy ship is 160 feet. Explain to me how this was supposed to successfully pass under the bridge. Explain to me how anyone associated with this ship and this waterway allowed this to happen. pic.twitter.com/bvA338wcYW
— SquirrelTribe (@SquirrelTribe) May 18, 2025
The vessel, a Mexican Navy tall ship, collided with the Brooklyn Bridge after reportedly losing power, a mechanical failure that allowed the current to push the ship into the structure. The crash resulted in toppled masts and a horrific scene as stunned onlookers realized people were on the ship at the time of impact.
Schumer pointed directly at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a Trump-era initiative designed to streamline federal operations—as part of the problem. In his written statement, he claimed:
“We know that the Trump administration has been meddling in U.S. Coast Guard operations, from staffing to command and comms, and I have the general sense of a DOGE dysfunction in parts of the Coast Guard, to put it mildly.”
He also blasted Trump for removing Admiral Linda Fagan as Commandant of the USCG and claimed that a hiring freeze at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) left the Vehicle Traffic Service (VTS)—essentially the waterway equivalent of air traffic control—understaffed and ineffective.
With the Brooklyn Bridge strike last night:
I’m fighting for answers about whether Trump and DOGE have impacted water traffic control.
We know they’ve been meddling with U.S. Coast Guard staffing.
Trump relieved Admiral Linda Fagan as Commandant of the USCG, and that position…
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 18, 2025
Schumer’s accusations were swiftly countered by the U.S. Coast Guard itself, which said in a statement that the VTS was fully functional and operating under standard protocols during the time of the crash:
“Our response included launching a crew from Station New York, establishing a temporary safety zone, and coordinating with NYPD, FDNY, and NYC DOT.”
Additionally, Fox News reported there were no other vessels in the vicinity that required VTS intervention, further undermining Schumer’s implication that the crash stemmed from federal-level staffing or procedural failures.New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) offered a more grounded explanation: a mechanical issue on the ship caused it to lose power, allowing the current to push it uncontrollably toward the bridge.
This mechanical failure aligns more closely with eyewitness accounts and video evidence showing the ship drifting slowly before slamming into the Brooklyn Bridge, lit up and carrying crew members on board. The incident triggered a multi-agency rescue effort, and an investigation is now underway.Schumer’s attempt to shift blame to the Trump administration—even amid a clear mechanical failure and despite Coast Guard pushback—has drawn criticism as a political deflection during a tragedy. The suggestion that DOGE-era personnel decisions and a lack of leadership at the Coast Guard’s top level led to this collision lacks evidence, at least according to current federal officials.
This is insane footage of the Mexican Navy ship crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge.
What would you even do if you were up on that mast?
— Bruce (@bruce_barrett) May 18, 2025
While Schumer’s concerns about federal staffing are not new, trying to tie a ship’s mechanical failure to a former president’s personnel decisions strains credibility, especially when local authorities and the Coast Guard have offered fact-based, apolitical assessments of what went wrong.
