By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee canceled a planned vote Wednesday on President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said she was delaying the vote “pending information that members have been seeking” but did not immediately specify a new date to consider the nomination.
Biden first nominated Denver International Airport Chief Executive Officer Phil Washington to serve as top U.S. aviation regulator last year as the agency faces questions after a series of close call safety incidents. Washington has come under fire from Republicans who question if he has the required aviation experience needed for the job, while the Transportation Department says Washington is fully qualified.
The White House did not immediately comment on the nomination.
In January, the FAA halted all departing passenger airline flights for nearly two hours because of a pilot messaging database outage, the first nationwide ground stop of its kind since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The FAA, without a permanent leader for nearly a year, has been criticised for a series of recent near-miss incidents and still faces questions about its oversight of Boeing after two fatal 737 MAX crashes.
Senator Ted Cruz, ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, and other Republicans say Washington, who retired from the U.S. Army in July 2000, is not qualified and must have a waiver from rules requiring civilian leadership to head the FAA. The Republicans said Washington was unable to answer basic questions about the FAA.
Cantwell says Washington is the right candidate to change FAA culture and ensure accountability. Washington has the support of many aviation unions, other groups and former FAA administrators.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Potter)
