2023-09-07 19:19:04
President Joe Biden will nominate a former Barack Obama administration official to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after his first choice withdrew in March after running into opposition from Republican senators.
The White House said Thursday that Biden will nominate Michael G. Whitaker, a former FAA deputy administrator and current chief operating officer of a Hyundai subsidiary working to develop an air taxi.
Whitaker’s nomination had been expected for months, and Biden’s announcement was praised by various industry and labor groups.
The FAA, which regulates airline safety and manages the country’s airspace, has been led by consecutive acting administrators since March 2022.
The FAA faces a host of challenges including a shortage of air traffic controllers, outdated technology and close encounter warnings between planes at major airports. In addition, Congress is deliberating legislation that will direct the agency’s operations for the next five years.
Whitaker worked as a lawyer for TWA, which was absorbed by American Airlines, spent 15 years at United Airlines, where he became a senior vice president and oversaw international and regulatory affairs, then moved to InterGlobe, a travel company in India.
He was deputy administrator of the FAA (a position that does not require Senate approval) from 2013 to 2016. He is currently the commercial director of Supernal, a subsidiary of Hyundai that is working on an electric-powered air taxi, which would need FAA certification. the FAA to fly in the United States.
Last year, Biden nominated Denver International Airport CEO Phillip Washington, but withdrew in March after his nomination deadlocked in the Senate Commerce Committee.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who led the Republican opposition to Biden’s first choice, made a noncommittal statement on the second choice.
“We must carefully evaluate Mike Whitaker’s qualifications, experience and temperament to determine if he is the right person to lead the agency at this critical time,” Cruz said.
The FAA has lacked a Senate-confirmed leader since early last year, when President Donald Trump’s pick Stephen Dickson resigned midway through his five-year term. Since then, the agency has been led by three successive interim administrators.
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