USDOT defends 'fully qualified' Biden aviation nominee

The Biden administration told Congress on Thursday its pick to head the FAA is fully qualified and does not violate a law requiring civilian leadership. Republicans question whether Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington has the required aviation experience needed to serve as top US aviation regulator. Transportation Department (USDOT) General Counsel John Putnam said in a letter reviewed by Reuters that Washington met the legal requirements for the job, adding "the fresh perspective he will bring to his top-to-bottom assessment of the FAA's culture and operations will be a benefit." 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, must have a waiver from rules requiring civilian leadership to head the FAA. "Congress and the president have strictly, repeatedly, and on a bipartisan basis interpreted the law, since it was written, as excluding retired military members like Phil Washington," a spokeswoman for Cruz said. She rejected USDOT's letter, arguing it was "based on a dictionary and an unrelated NASA statute." The FAA, without a permanent leader for nearly a year, has come under fire after a series of recent near miss incidents and still faces questions about its oversight of Boeing after two fatal 737 MAX crashes. In January, the FAA halted all departing passenger airline flights for nearly two hours because of a computer outage, the first nationwide ground stop of its kind since Sept. 11, 2001.<br/>