FAA Nominee Involved In Los Angeles Investigation

29

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.

Russ Niles
Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.

Other AVwebflash Articles

29 COMMENTS

  1. Swell … another “Administrator” with no real aviation experience and now embroiled in a scandal that sounds easy to prove, or not. Why don’t we just find someone who knows how to run the Olympics? (oh, never mind … sigh).

    I listened to Billy Nolen at Airventure 2022’s Meet the Boss forum. He seemed knowledgeable and quick on his ‘feet.’ Aside from the fact that he used every Government buzz word I’ve ever heard in every other sentence, he did seem sharp. HE should be nominated. Let’s get on with this.

  2. What’s wrong with the current administrator, Steven Dickson? According to the FAA website his term doesn’t expire until August 2024. If you’re looking for some one who knows something about aviation, read his bio.

    • Yep. Political comment is unavoidable because it’s a political story but one can hardly judge or opine on the general character of a person based on the information available. Be nice.

    • Politics are a huge part of life right now. Perhaps Russ should recognize others opinions.. I didn’t say anything nasty. Simply my opinion. Isn’t that in the first amendment?

  3. “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.” Coming from grandpa it does not surprise anyone… Why would he nominate a guy with no experience in aviation? We all know the answer.

      • Yeah, and how did he get that job with no experience? I believe it’s a good idea to put on our thinking caps before we say things.

        • My cap is on firmly. No one is born with an aviation job as their first and only job, they start somewhere. His job at Denver was a pretty high-profile aviation job – not sure what more “aviation cred” you need. Before that he heads up one of the largest transit authorities in the country. So he’s got logistics and aviation experience. Ok, he’s not a pilot, yup that would be a bonus, but to say he’s unqualified is a stretch. Hold on tightly to that cap.

          • “…Politico says Washington, who left LA to become the CEO of Denver International Airport last year”

            Not much actual aviation experience, nor any significant exposure to learn about any aviation operations other than PFCs, large airport ops, airlines, large cargo, and perhaps Bravo & Delta ATC operations. What were Biden’s criteria for his short list of top candidates?

  4. He has all the requisite qualifications for this administration. All totally unrelated to the job.
    He fills the required “woke” square, and if he’s found to actually be involved in an actual corruption scandal, that’s just icing on the cake for these guys.

  5. It’s unfortunately reminiscent of the previous administrations appointments of unqualified questionable and “financially-connected”…. including National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price …. the shortest service tenures in the history of their respective offices….. and don’t forget Steve Bannon, Carl Icahn, Anthony Scaramucci and Betsy Devos in the unqualified/disqualified/dishonest and ignorant club.

    • The point being that Pres. Biden has nominated a significantly higher qualified and dedicated group than his predecessor.

LEAVE A REPLY