President Biden’s election to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has withdrawn from the scrutiny – after he was criticized for his lack of aviation experience in six high-profile near misses earlier this year.
Phillip Washington’s nomination was announced by the White House last year – a decision that was quickly rebuffed by Republican lawmakers who questioned the 65-year-old’s credentials.
Washington has served as the CEO of Denver International Airport since 2021.
Critics of Washington’s ascension to the top aviation regulator have also cited his possible legal involvement, including questions about his connection to a Los Angeles corruption investigation while he headed the county’s MTA.
Washington has since assumed the role of Denver International’s chief executive, and Biden tapped him into the all-important role last July. Washington’s current post is the only one involving aviation in his more than four-decade career.
The White House confirmed Washington’s withdrawal over the weekend — which comes as the FAA is already feeling the heat over a spate of recent safety issues and disruptions to flight operations that are being blamed on a systems failure in January.
Phillip Washington, 65, withdrew his nomination after Republican criticism for lack of experience
The FAA has had a string of safety issues lately, with six serious runway incursions since January prompting the agency to call a safety summit last week
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg late Saturday confirmed Washington’s withdrawal from the race, first reported by Portal on Saturday.
“The partisan attacks and procedural obstructions he has faced are undeserved, but I respect his decision to retire and am grateful for his service,” Buttigieg said on Twitter.
A White House official told CNN that Washington was retiring its name due to “an onslaught of unfounded Republican attacks” from officials including but not limited to Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
A representative further claimed to The New York Times that Washington has the right qualifications and experience to lead the airline’s regulator.
“Unfortunately, an onslaught of unfounded Republican attacks on Mr. Washington’s service and experience irresponsibly delayed this process, threatened unnecessary procedural hurdles on Senate floors and ultimately prompted him to withdraw his nomination,” the spokesman said.
Officials added that the decision ultimately rested with Washington — a 24-year-old Army veteran whose career, while involving transportation, was largely limited to the ground.
For years he ran Denver’s Regional Transportation District and later Los Angeles County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he was implicated in public corruption investigations involving non-tendered contracts awarded by his transit system to a non-profit organization serving a operates a sexual harassment hotline.
Washington has since denied any wrongdoing in the matter, which is currently under investigation by the California Attorney General’s Office.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation was scheduled to vote on Washington’s nomination on Wednesday, but was postponed because “they don’t have the votes to report him from the committee,” a Republican aide told CNN.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg late Saturday confirmed Washington’s withdrawal from the race, first reported Saturday
The FAA has already been furious over a series of recent safety issues, as well as disruptions to flight operations, which are being traced to a systems failure in January affecting several airlines including Southwest
Washington has been CEO of Denver International Airport since 2021 — but otherwise has no aviation experience
Calls for Washington to be sidetracked have been rife in recent months, coming almost simultaneously with a slew of safety questions being filed over a spate of safety incidents and mass shutdowns at airlines like Southwest.
Senator Ted Cruz, senior Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, said late Saturday that since his nomination, it’s clear that “Mr. Washington lacked the aviation experience needed to run the FAA.
“The Biden administration must now quickly appoint someone to head the FAA who has an extensive aviation background, can garner broad bipartisan support in the Senate, and will ensure the safety of the flying public.”
Cruz and other Republicans had said Washington, who retired from the US Army in July 2000, needed a waiver of rules mandating civilian leadership as head of the FAA. The Department of Transportation’s general counsel said Washington is fully qualified and does not need a waiver.
Noting that Washington only has about two years of experience as airport CEO, Cruz criticized Washington’s inability to answer some aviation questions at his confirmation hearing.
The White House insisted Washington was fully qualified. Cantwell had said he would shake up the agency, saying, “We feel like the industry and the FAA have gotten too comfortable.”
A White House official had previously told Portal, “Politics must not delay the confirmation of an administrator for FAA leadership, and we will move expeditiously to nominate a new candidate for FAA administrator.”
The official said, “An onslaught of unfounded Republican attacks on Mr. Washington’s service and experience has irresponsibly delayed this process, threatened unnecessary procedural hurdles in the Senate and ultimately prompted him to withdraw his nomination today.”
Washington was originally nominated in July but did not receive a hearing from the Commerce Committee until March 1.
The FAA has had a number of safety issues lately.
In January, the FAA grounded all departing passenger flights for nearly two hours due to an outage in a pilot’s messaging database, the first nationwide ground stop of its kind since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in a statement last week that they are investigating a number of incidents raising concerns
Baltimore International Airport on January 12: A Southwest Airlines flight had a 173-foot near miss involving an ambulance crossing the runway without clearance
John F. Kennedy International Airport: On January 15, an American Airlines flight nearly collided with a Delta Airlines plane while the American Airlines flight was taking off
Seattle Tacoma International on January 26: Two Alaska Airlines planes scraped their tails on takeoff due to a software bug that led pilots to believe their planes were 20,000 pounds lighter
An American Airlines plane was seen crossing the path of a Delta plane as it was about to take off. Air traffic control called ‘s***!’ when they noticed the possible collision
Austin International Airport on February 4: A Southwest jet bound for Mexico received the OK to take off, but apparently it was taking too long. As it attempted to begin ascent, a Boeing 767 cargo plane approached its landing
Ronald Reagan Washington International March 7: Republic Airlines Flight 4736 nearly collides with United Airlines Flight 2003 after crossing a runway without permission
Hollywood Burbank Airport on March 18: A Southwest Airlines flight was ordered to “turn around” because of a helicopter on the runway. This is the second incident at the Southern California airport in a few weeks
On Wednesday, the FAA issued a safety warning to airlines, pilots and others about the “need for continued vigilance and vigilance to mitigate safety risks” following a series of high-profile near misses.
Six serious runway incursions have occurred since January, prompting the agency to convene a safety summit last week.
Some industry figures believe the White House could nominate incumbent FAA Administrator Billy Nolen as the new nominee. Nolen, who was appointed chief of the FAA’s Air Safety Bureau, has been the acting FAA Administrator since April 2022 and has garnered support from many Republicans in Congress.
Washington had drawn support from a variety of groups, including a number of aviation unions and a group of family members of some killed in a fatal Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX crash in 2019.
The FAA has been without a permanent administrator for nearly a year.
This was the second major Bide candidate to withdraw in recent weeks. Gigi Sohn, his pick for a key fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), withdrew, causing a backlash for Democrats, who have been unable to regain control of the telecoms regulator for more than two years take over.
During this time of uncertain leadership, hundreds have called for the FAA to address “technology issues” affecting airlines that appear to have grown stronger over the past year – including Southwest airline’s cancellations recorded in January.
The airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights earlier this year after an FAA pilot alert system went down overnight, prompting a nationwide halt to departures.
Other challenges include the lingering aftermath of two 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which have forced the FAA to further analyze its safety procedures.
The accidents in 2018 and 2019 claimed 346 lives.
Other challenges include the lingering aftermath of two 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which have forced the FAA to further analyze its safety procedures