The administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration announced he would step down after President Joe Biden leaves office, opening up another leading position in a federal agency for President-elect Donald Trump to fill.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker announced he would resign from his position on Jan. 20, the same day Trump is inaugurated. His short term, which only began in October 2023, saw the agency take action against Boeing due to several safety concerns over their 737 MAX aircraft and draw the ire of Elon Musk after proposing fines for SpaceX.
“The United States is the safest and most complex airspace in the world, and that is because of your commitment to the safety of the flying public,” Whitaker wrote in an email sent to staff at the FAA on Thursday, according to Bloomberg Government. He called his time at the federal agency “the best and most challenging job of my career,” but offered no insight into why he decided to leave the post before the end of his five-year term in 2028.
