The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Norwich resident Michael Whitaker to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. The vote was 98 to 0 in support.
Nominated last month by President Joe Biden, Whitaker first faced a vote in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where he received strong bipartisan support.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who serves on the committee and also lives in Norwich, has been an avid supporter of Whitaker’s nomination.
“Michael Whitaker lives in a small town in Vermont, but he’s got big time experience,” Welch said in a speech last week. “He understands the importance of ensuring that everyone is represented, and he knows the realities of what the industry and FAA need to succeed. With Mike in the cockpit of the FAA, our skies will be safer.”
Whitaker currently works as the chief operating officer of Supernal, a company that develops electrical air vehicles. He has had a long career in aviation, including working for Trans World Airlines and serving as an executive at United Airlines for nearly 15 years. During the Obama administration, from 2013 to 2016, he served as the deputy administrator of the FAA.
The Vermonter was not Biden’s first choice for the job. Philip A. Washington withdrew his nomination in March amid concerns raised by Republican senators about his qualifications.
Whitaker will be the FAA’s first permanent leader in over a year, since Steve Dickinson, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, stepped down.
The new administrator faces a series of challenges, including a shortage of air traffic controllers. In August, numerous near-collisions raised safety concerns and, in January, an FAA outage caused a nationwide halt in flights.