The chair of the panel, Washington Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell, said time constraints pushed the confirmation process to next year. A spokeswoman for Ms. Cantwell, Ansley Lacitis, said the senator “looks forward to the nomination hearing and asks questions about strengthening the FAA’s independence and safety oversight, building staff capacity and ensuring the FAA is the global gold standard for safety. ”
A handful of factors have clouded the status of Mr. Washington’s nomination, including questions about the brevity of his aviation career.
When Mr. Biden announced his choice for Mr. Washington, Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the top Republican on the trade committee, said he was “skeptical because of the candidate’s lack of aviation experience.” He added, “This position requires extensive industry knowledge to ensure the safety and efficiency of the agency and U.S. air traffic.”
Mr. Washington has also come under scrutiny during his time in charge of the Los Angeles transportation system, with his name popping up in a messy political spat that has played out in recent months in the country’s most populous county.
In September, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at the home of a county supervisor, Sheila Kuehl, as part of what the department described as a public corruption investigation. The investigation involved a series of no-bid contracts awarded by the transit system known as Metro to a non-profit organization to operate a sexual harassment hotline.
The order stated that according to a whistleblower Mr. Washington had “pushed forward” a contract with the nonprofit to remain “in good graces” with Ms. Kuehl, who served on Metro’s board of directors. The warrant added that the whistleblower confronted Mr. Washington about a $75,000 bill from the nonprofit and that he directed it to pay it through a process used for office supplies.
The search itself was controversial. The sheriff, Alex Villanueva, had a history of clashes with other officials and was accused of using investigations to attack his opponents, though he claimed he had backed down on the nonprofit contract investigation. The nonprofit’s executive director, Patricia Giggans, whose home was also searched, is a friend of Ms. Kuehl’s and was appointed by her to serve on the civilian oversight committee for the sheriff’s department. Both Ms. Kuehl and Ms. Giggans had previously called for Sheriff Villanueva’s resignation.
