Send In the Clowns …

In a predictable instance of nepotism and political theater, the Biden Administration will name Democrat standby and aviation industry neophyte Phil Washington its nominee to run the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Originally from the Altgeld Gardens housing projects on Chicago’s South Side and conspicuously light on aviation experience, Washington exemplifies the Biden Administration’s immutable practice of predicating critical appointments on mysterious standards rather than experience and ability. 

Washington’s aviation resume comprises a brief (less than one-year) stint heading up operations at the Denver airport; prior to which he spent 16 years at the Denver Regional Transit District—an organization that runs busses and trains, not airplanes. Thereafter, Washington ran more busses and trains as CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In the fall of 2020—and here a great many ambiguities are made dazzlingly clear—Washington led the transportation team for the Biden/Harris transition to advise on the direction of federal transportation policy and agencies. Also, he co-chaired the Biden/Harris Infrastructure Policy Committee. 

If Washington is indeed nominated, expect the White House to point out the predominant section of his resume—that being the 24 years he spent in the U.S. Army after enlisting at age 17, culminating in his achieving the rank of Command Sergeant Major. Expect also that the Biden Administration will vehemently maintain that marching, boot-polishing, and bunk-making are skills essential to the leadership of an agency with a budget of $24 billion and some 45,000 employees tasked with ensuring the smooth and safe operation of the nation's airspace system — a vital part of the country's infrastructure that is currently under enormous strain. 

FMI: www.faa.gov, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect