While that office may be ready to go to work, the FAA itself is not fully on the job. That’s because it’s without an administrator. Michael Whitaker, who had led the administration since Oct., 2023, stepped down earlier this month,

Mike Whitaker, the previous FAA administrator, stepped down on Inauguration Day after just over a year on the job. He’d repeatedly clashed with Elon Musk — now in charge of a group tasked with slashing the government’s headcount by President Donald Trump — over safety issues at his space company,

The Federal Aviation Administration’s leader stepped down on Jan. 20, months after Elon Musk demanded that he quit. The move by Michael Whitaker means the FAA has no Senate-confirmed leader for one of the biggest crises in its history because he quit before Donald Trump took office.

The plane crash at DCA raised questions about recent leadership changes within the federal agencies charged with regulating air travel.