WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has withdrawn his nomination after Republican criticism that he is not qualified to serve as the top aviation regulator.
Last year, Biden selected Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington to serve as FAA administrator. A Washington airport spokeswoman did not immediately comment.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed on Saturday that the withdrawal in Washington was first reported by Reuters.
“The partisan attacks and obstruction of justice he faced were inappropriate, but I respect his decision to step down and am grateful for his service,” Buttigieg said on Twitter.
The agency has faced many safety questions in recent months after a series of near-miss safety incidents and the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this week delayed a vote on his nomination. citing outstanding questions by some legislators. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat on the committee, has not announced whether she will support him and Sen. Jon Tester is also considering how to vote, a spokeswoman said this week.
Senator Ted Cruz, the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, said Saturday that it has been clear since his nomination that “Mr. Washington lacks the aviation experience necessary to run the FAA … the FAA that has a broad background in aviation, will gain broad bipartisan support in the Senate, and will keep the flying public safe.”
Cruz and other Republicans say Washington, which retired from the US Army in July 2000, needs a waiver from rules requiring civilian leadership to lead the FAA. The Department of Transportation’s general counsel said Washington is fully qualified and does not need a waiver.
Cruz noted that Washington only has about two years of experience as an airport CEO and criticized Washington’s inability to answer some aviation questions during his confirmation hearing.
The White House insists Washington is fully qualified. Cantwell said he would shake up the agency saying “we feel the industry and FAA are getting too comfortable.”
A White House official earlier told Reuters “politics should not continue to confirm an administrator to lead the FAA, and we will move quickly to nominate a new candidate for FAA administrator.” .”
The official said that “an attack of unfounded Republican attacks on the service and experience of Mr. Washington irresponsibly delayed this process, threatened unnecessary obstacles to the procedure on the floor of the Senate , and ultimately led him to withdraw his nomination today.”
Washington was originally nominated in July but did not get a hearing from the Commerce Committee until March 1.
The FAA has many new safety issues.
In January, the FAA grounded all departing passenger airline flights for nearly two hours due to the loss of a pilot messaging database, the first nationwide ground stop since Sept. 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 mitigating safety hazards” after a series of high- profile close to collision.
Six serious runway incursions have occurred since January prompting the agency to convene a safety summit last week.
Some industry officials think the White House may name acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen as the new nominee. Nolen, who was named head of the FAA’s aviation safety office, has been the FAA’s acting administrator since April 2022 and has received support from several Republicans in Congress.
Washington won support from a wide range of groups, including several aviation unions and a group of family members of some who died in a 2019 fatal Boeing ( BA.N ) 737 MAX crash. .
The FAA has been without a permanent administrator for almost a year.
This is the second major Bide nominee to withdraw in recent weeks. Gigi Sohn, his pick for a key fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has backed down in the face of a setback for Democrats who have not controlled the telecom regulator for more than two years. year.
Reporting by David Shepardson, editing by Deepa Babington and Marguerita Choy, Robert Birsel
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