FAA nominee faulted by Republicans for short aviation résumé

President Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, Phillip A. Washington, faced criticism at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday over his lack of aviation experience, with some Republican senators casting him as unqualified for the post. The nomination of Washington, the CE of Denver International Airport, has been clouded with uncertainty in the Senate amid questions about his experience and his entanglement in a public corruption investigation. He was pressed on both topics at the hearing, which was held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “The FAA can’t afford to be led by someone who needs on-the-job training,” said Senator Ted Budd, Republican of North Carolina. The agency has been without permanent leadership since Stephen Dickson, a former Delta Air Lines executive who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, stepped down nearly a year ago. The void atop the FAA has received more attention during what has been a bumpy stretch for the nation’s air travel system. An operational meltdown by Southwest Airlines around Christmas and an FAA system outage in January caused widespread flight disruptions, and there have been a string of near collisions at airports that have raised questions about aviation safety. Washington served in the Army for 24 years, rising to the rank of command sergeant major. Later, he led Denver’s Regional Transportation District and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and he became chief executive of Denver’s airport, which is one of the world’s busiest, in 2021.<br/>