[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee for head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has withdrawn his nomination after Republicans criticized him as unqualified to head aviation regulation. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Saturday.
Last year, Biden appointed Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington as FAA administrator.
The agency has faced questions in recent months after a string of close-knit security incidents, and earlier this week the Senate Commerce Committee ruled out his decision, citing outstanding questions by some lawmakers. Senator Kirsten Sinema, a Democratic committee member, has not announced whether she will endorse him, and Senator Jon Tester is still weighing how to vote. a spokesperson said this week.
A senior White House official, one of the sources, told Reuters, “The onslaught of unfounded Republican attacks on Mr. Washington’s services and experience has irresponsibly slowed this process and caused unnecessary procedural steps on the Senate floor. It threatened a higher hurdle and ultimately led to him withdrawing his nomination today.” .”
A spokeswoman for Denver International Airport, where Washington is CEO, did not immediately comment.
Senator Ted Cruz, who holds a Republican seat on the Senate Commerce Committee, and other Republicans said Washington, who retired from the U.S. Army in July 2000, abandoned the rule requiring a civilian lead to lead the FAA. said he had to. Department of Transportation general counsel said in a letter earlier this month that Washington is fully eligible and no waiver is required.
Cruise’s office did not immediately comment, but Cruise said Washington had only about two years of experience as an airline CEO. Criticizing his inability to answer, he argued that he was “objectively unqualified to lead the FAA.”
The White House argued that Washington was fully qualified. “The industry and the FAA feel too comfortable,” said Cantwell, which he said would shake the agency.
A White House official added, “Politics should not delay confirmation of the administrator to lead the FAA and move quickly to nominate a new candidate for FAA administrator.”
Washington was originally nominated in July, but did not receive a hearing from the Commerce Commission until March 1.
The FAA has some recent safety issues.
In January, the FAA suspended all departing passenger flights for nearly two hours due to a pilot message database outage, the first nationwide ground stop of its kind since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
On Wednesday, the FAA issued a safety alert to airlines, pilots and others about the “need for continued vigilance and attention to safety risk mitigation” after a series of high-profile crashes. bottom.
The agency held a safety summit last week after six serious runway incursions have occurred since January.
Some industry insiders believe the White House may nominate Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen as the new nominee. Nolen, the FAA’s nominee for Director of Aviation Safety, has been Acting FAA Administrator since April 2022 and has the support of many Republicans in Congress.
Washington had the support of a wide range of groups, including many airline unions and a group of some families who died in the 2019 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX crash.
The FAA has been without a permanent administrator for almost a year.
This would be the second major Bide candidate to pull out in the coming weeks. Gidison, his nominee to his vital fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), withdrew to deal with a Democratic retreat that has failed to dominate the communications regulator for more than two years.
Reporting by David Shepherdson; Editing by Deepa Babington and Margherita Choi
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
[ad_2]
Source link