FAA Nominee Involved In Los Angeles Investigation

It may be some time before Phil Washington, President Joe Biden’s pick as FAA Administrator, heads for confirmation by the Senate thanks to his involvement in a criminal corruption investigation in Los Angeles County. An LA county supervisor’s home was searched under warrant last week and on the list of items being sought was correspondence between Washington and the supervisor Sheila Kuehl. Kuehl was Washington’s boss when he was head of the Metropolitan Transit Authority during the period in which the alleged corruption occurred. Washington has publicly denied any wrongdoing, according to Politico.

A whistleblower complaint alleged Washington facilitated a $150,000-a-year contract for an organization led by friend of Kuehl’s to provide a sexual assault hotline for the transit system. The whistleblower alleged the hotline fielded only a handful of calls over six years and alleged Washington approved the payments to curry favor with his boss. Kuehl has dismissed the allegations, saying the whistleblower was a disgruntled former employee.

For his part, Politico says Washington, who left LA to become the CEO of Denver International Airport last year, has denied the allegations. During the confirmation process for the DIA job, he told a hearing by Denver City Council the whistleblower was carrying out “a well-orchestrated attempt to assassinate my character and reputation by alleging untrue things that involved programs that she herself managed.”

Washington’s involvement in the search warrant complicates his candidacy for the FAA top job and is a topic of conversation among industry leaders. “It’s too early to tell whether this will torpedo his nomination, but it’s certainly not a positive development for the administration,” Politico quoted an unnamed transportation consultant as saying. “The allegations of corruption are significant themselves and keeping in mind the contracting, grant, and procurement process is a significant component of the FAA’s mission.” The White House has declined comment.

Meanwhile, there seem to be few complaints about the performance of interim FAA Administrator Billy Nolen, who was vaulted into the job after just a few months as the agency’s new head of safety. Before that, Nolen, who is a former airline pilot, headed up safety for Canadian airline WestJet. "I don’t think people are sitting around going ‘Oh my God, we’ve got to get Phil in here’ compared to Billy,” an unnamed airport lobbyist told Politico.