Republican leaders are stepping up their opposition to Phil Washington to be the next FAA Administrator, urging President Joe Biden to withdraw the nomination on the grounds that it fails to meet “both the letter and spirit of the law” regarding qualifications.
In a joint letter to the President yesterday, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Sam Graves (R-Missouri) wrote that the statute requires the administrator to be a civilian and that Congress has interpreted that stipulation “with exceptional rigidity.”
Washington is a retired member of the Army and therefore is not considered a civilian under the law, they maintained, noting Congress has issued waivers from the requirement on six occasions for retired military personnel nominees by both parties.
They pointed to a reported statement from the Biden Administration that Washington has served in a civilian capacity for a lengthy time, but the lawmakers argued that “the law and congressional precedent are explicitly clear…There is no length of time after which a retired member of the military is considered a civilian for the purposes of this statute.”
In granting waivers, Congress must consider whether the qualifications and experience outweigh the civilian requirement, they said, and added, “Unfortunately in the case of Mr. Washington’s, record, it is very clear that it does not.” They noted that when he was originally nominated, Washington only had about 12 months of experience at the helm of Denver International Airport and further argued that he lacks experience in aviation safety matters.
The lawmakers also expressed concern about Washington leaving large transportation organizations in Los Angeles and Denver “at best in much of the same shape he found them. At worst…entangled in legal troubles.”
At the same time, Democrats have continued their strong endorsement for Washington, with Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) highlighting a number of statements of support from the hearing this week on the Washington nomination. “You represent a great career that we much appreciate,” Cantwell told Washington.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), who introduced Washington during the hearing further said, “Instead of focusing on Phil's obvious qualifications, there's been an attempt in recent months to distract from his record and frankly, impugn his character…I will just say that the past 20 years have left me only with the highest regard for Phil's integrity and leadership.”