The White House plans to nominate veteran regulator and airline executive Mike Whitaker as the next leader of the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency that hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed chief for more than a year and a half during a time of significant strain on air travel.
President Joe Biden plans to nominate Whitaker as soon as Thursday, according to five lobbyists from various sectors of aviation who are close to Whitaker, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Whitaker’s name has been circulating among lobbyists and congressional aides since May, when former acting Administrator Billy Nolen announced that he would return to the private sector. The FAA’s current acting leader is Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg, whose experience is primarily with transit and on Capitol Hill but who is a veteran in policy and the workings of Washington, D.C.