FAA Nominee Finds Broad Support at Senate Panel Hearing

The Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration building in Washington on July 21, 2007. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Michael G. Whitaker, who’s President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, is drawing bipartisan support among lawmakers, which might bode well for a speedy confirmation.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, noted that support during the panel’s Oct. 4 initial hearing on Mr. Whitaker, not only from both sides of the aisle but also from various members of the aviation community.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the committee’s ranking Republican member, said in his opening statement, “Every day, some three million passengers board commercial flights in and out of U.S. airports with the confidence that they will safely arrive at their destinations. This public trust is the result of a nearly eight-decade collaboration between the aviation industry and the Federal Aviation Administration.”

Mr. Cruz expressed his approval of the Biden administration’s decision to nominate someone with personal expertise in the aviation field.

“The next administrator will face serious challenges in rebuilding the FAA after 18 months without a Senate-confirmed leader: staffing critical air traffic control facilities; modernizing antiquated air traffic systems; and bringing FAA employees back in person after three years of telework,” he said.

“I am glad that the Administration has finally heeded my advice and nominated a person with experience in aviation.”

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who introduced Mr. Whitaker to the committee, said of the nominee, “Safety is dependent on consistency, and unfortunately, the only thing that’s been consistent at the agency since the former administrator departed is the growing list of acting positions across the agency. Eighteen months without an FAA administrator is troubling.”

Mr. Whitaker outlined his plan for the agency in his opening statement.

If confirmed, he said he would “work to not just maintain the safety record we have collectively achieved, but build upon it.” He also said he believes that the FAA needs to “build the aviation system of the future,” which will require that the agency “be agile and creative, and for all of us to make ongoing investments.”

Those goals can’t be achieved without making the FAA a place where aviators want to build their careers, Mr. Whitaker said.

“The FAA faces big challenges, and it will take innovators and dreamers, who bring ideas from every part of our country, to solve them. Aviation has opened doors of opportunity to so many, including me. We must make sure it continues to do so for citizens in every corner of the country, no matter their background.”

Whitaker’s Nomination

Early in September, President Biden nominated Mr. Whitaker, a former Obama administration official, to lead the agency after his first choice withdrew from consideration in March because of GOP opposition in the Senate.

The agency has been confronted by a number of obstacles, including a lack of air traffic controllers, aging technology, and concern regarding close calls between planes at major airports. Congress is currently debating legislation that will govern the agency’s operations for the next five years.

Mr. Whitaker worked as a lawyer for TWA, which was acquired by American Airlines. He then spent 15 years at United Airlines, where he supervised international and regulatory affairs as a senior vice president, before moving to InterGlobe, an Indian travel company.

From 2013 to 2016, he served as deputy FAA administrator, a position that doesn’t require Senate approval. He’s the chief commercial officer for Supernal, a subsidiary of Hyundai that’s developing an electric-powered air transport that would require FAA certification to fly in the United States.

Last year, President Biden initially nominated Denver International Airport CEO Phillip Washington, who withdrew after the confirmation process stagnated in the Senate Commerce Committee.

Republicans and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) argued that Washington lacked adequate aviation experience—his background is mostly in city transit systems, having held the Denver airport position only since mid-2021.

The FAA has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since early last year, when President Donald Trump’s nominee, Stephen Dickson, resigned in the middle of his five-year term.

Since then, two successive interim administrators have led the agency. In a recent interview, Billy Nolen, who quit the FAA in June to join another air taxi company, Archer Aviation, praised the nomination of Mr. Whitaker, saying he couldn’t think of a better person to run the agency.

Conservative Concern

However, a conservative watchdog group, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), voiced concerns that Mr. Whitaker’s ties to an electric “flying taxi” company could conflict with his ability to serve the American people’s best interest.

“Mike Whitaker currently works with an electric ‘flying taxi’ business named Supernal. These ‘flying taxis’ are formally called eTVOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles, and eTVOLs as a class are about to undergo a significant period of regulatory scrutiny by the FAA as they seek their first approvals,” the AAF wrote in its memo.

“Additionally, the federal funding floodgates have begun to open for infrastructure buildout for vertiports capable of landing these vehicles. We believe Mike Whitaker’s closeness with the industry raises serious conflict of interest questions.

“Will Mike Whitaker usher through approvals that benefit his former employer and, consequently, enable the federal government to dispense limitless ‘helicopter money’ to fund vertiport buildout?”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.