Quotes
He needs to resign.”
Musk, the world’s richest person, worth more than $400bn, said
Is there an acting FAA director?”
When Trump’s new secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, was asked ... he walked away from reportersAs I conclude my time at the FAA, my confidence in you to meet our safety mission has never been stronger.”
He told staffIn the 10 days since Trump’s inauguration, his administration froze the hiring of additional air traffic controllers, gutted key air safety protections, and fired FAA leadership to the benefit of Musk’s business interests,
the progressive policy advocacy group MoveOn wrote in a statement
For some jobs, we need the highest level of genius,
Trump saidThe 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 said in his farewell to the agency
They’ve been around 20 years, ... and I think they need to operate at the highest level of safety,” including by adding a “whistleblower program.”
Whitaker told lawmakers of SpaceX during a House hearing.jpg)
Humanity will forever be confined to Earth unless there is radical reform at the FAA!”
Musk wrote in frustrationSafety drives everything we do at the FAA, including a legal responsibility for the safety oversight of companies with commercial space transportation licenses,
said FAA Chief Counsel Marc Nichols in a statement at the timeServing as the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration—with this incredible team—has been the honor of my lifetime,
Whitaker wrote
SpaceX writes to thank you for taking the opportunity to seek answers from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Mike Whitaker on FAA’s licensing challenges relating to commercial space launch…SpaceX rejects any allegations from FAA that SpaceX violated any laws.”
SpaceX agreed, saying, in its letter to KileyFor nearly two years, SpaceX has voiced its concerns with the FAA’s inability to keep pace with the commercial spaceflight industry. It is clear that the Agency lacks the resources to timely review licensing materials, but also focuses its limited resources on areas unrelated to public safety. These distractions continue to directly threaten national priorities and undercut American industry's ability to innovate.”
Two days later, SpaceX sent and publicly posted a letter to Congress objecting to the fines, addingEnvironmental regulations and mitigations serve a noble purpose, stemming from common-sense safeguards to enable progress while preventing undue impact to the environment. However, with the licensing process being drawn out for Flight 5, we find ourselves delayed for unreasonable and exasperating reasons.”
In a blog post, SpaceX wrote
President Trump now oversees the military and the FAA. One of his first acts was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe. Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again."
Taking to X, former secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was also the target of blame by Trump, wrote
We've had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brain power, where you have to go by psychological quality... Biden went by a standard that is the complete opposite,
Trump told the press
Hiring air traffic controllers is the No 1 safety issue according to the entire aviation industry,
Larsen said
The very title of the ‘Direct Access to the Capital Act’ gives the game away that this bill is written to maximize the personal convenience of a comparatively small number of powerful, well-connected individuals at the expense of safety and efficiency of flights – which should be our top priority,
Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia told the Washington Post at the timeThere’s never been any proof that DEI causes any safety issues, because it doesn’t,
he said