Washington Nomination To FAA Delayed Further, Civilian Status Challenged

The head of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) says the Biden administration's pick for FAA Administrator either has to formally resign from the Army and lose his retired status or get a waiver from Congress to qualify for the job. In an Op-Ed column in The Hill, Graves said the law is clear that FAA administrators must be "a civilian in the strictest sense of the word" and that means Washington can't be on "the active or retired list of any regular component of the armed services." Graves said those stipulations were made by President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he created the FAA in 1958 to ensure it was at arm's length from the military. Graves alleges the current administration is trying to circumvent that requirement by using a "dictionary definition" of the word civilian in advancing Washington's nomination.

The fracas over Washington's eligibility might be behind the Senate Commerce Committee's decision Wednesday to delay further debate on his nomination. If Washington's eligibility was clear cut, then only the Senate would have to consider his nomination and the Democrats could use their slim majority to push him through. But if it's determined that Washington is still technically in the military and he wants to hang onto that status then both the House and Senate would have to vote in favor of a waiver. The Republican-controlled House would almost certainly defeat the waiver motion. Graves said he doesn't think Washington is qualified for the job.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington announced the delay but didn't offer much explanation on Wednesday. "We are moving that to a future date, pending information that members have been seeking,” she said. She did not detail that information nor did she set a time for future consideration of his appointment.

Sen. Ted Cruz, the ranking member on the committee, has repeatedly said Washington doesn't have the votes needed to gain the confirmation and has been pushing the Democrats to withdraw Washington's nomination and replace him with Acting Administrator Billy Nolen, citing Washington's thin experience in aviation compared to Nolen's 30-year career as an airline pilot and safety expert. “Both Mr. Washington and Mr. Nolen are African American. The difference is Mr. Nolen has the experience we should require in that position,” Cruz said.

Cantwell dismissed the notion while getting in a plug for Washington. “We will have this debate in the future. Mr. Washington is qualified,” Cantwell said. “He has the support of other former heads of the FAA who also were not pilots. And they did very good jobs and were respected.”