WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's Department of

Government Efficiency initiative has recently assigned a team to

review operations at the National Transportation Safety Board, a

spokesperson for the NTSB confirmed on Wednesday.

DOGE has been assigning teams to a number of independent

agencies and recently sought to review agencies that are part of

the legislative branch.

Earlier this month, the White House fired three Democrats on

the five-member Consumer Product Safety Commission after a DOGE

team visited seeking to join as detailees to the agency. The

commissioners filed suit on Wednesday over the dismissals.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters in March the

agency had not lost any personnel as a result of government job

cuts and that it was exempt from DOGE's buyout offer.

In an April 14 letter to Congress, Homendy said "the

Trump administration has recognized the critical role that the

NTSB and its workforce plays."

Homendy said the NTSB -- which has around 400 employees

- had submitted a reorganization plan that included eliminating

14 positions through regular attrition.

DOGE teams have been reviewing leases, staffing and

financial contracts signed by smaller agencies among other

issues as part of a sweeping overhaul of government.

A series of aviation safety incidents including the Jan.

29

mid-air collision between

an American Airlines ( AAL ) regional jet and a Army

helicopter that killed 67 people have raised alarm and the NTSB

has opened numerous safety investigations into incidents in

recent months.

The NTSB has also investigated high-profile

train derailments

and maritime accidents including the 2024 collapse of the

Key Bridge in Baltimore

that prompted the board to issue u

rgent safety recommendations in March

.

The NTSB workload typically exceeds 2,000 investigations

a year.