Would Be Perhaps The Most Visible Holdover From The Obama Administration

As we reported last week when FAA Administrator Michael Huerta released the revised Part 23 rules, he said at the end of his news conference that the planned to stay on after the administration shifts from President Obama to President Trump January 20.

The FAA administrator is by law appointed to a five-year term independent of the person in the White House, and Huerta's term will not expire until 2018. He said during the news conference that he is "looking forward to the next year. We have a lot of things we can be proud of," he said, responding to a question from a reporter.

Huerta (pictured) also said "This is not the last of these you are going to see," referring to the Part 23 changes, and he hinted that revised drone regulations could be coming by the end of the year that would allow small UAVs to be flown over populated areas. Huerta said that regulation is undergoing "a lot of review."

The Wall Street Journal reports that the revisions to Part 23 are very much in line with President-elect Trump's vision for American businesses that are more competitive. Huerta also mentioned another theme often used by Trump; the creation and retention of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

But Huerta is also likely to be one of only a handful of high-ranking Obama appointees who will remain in their offices after January 20th, if not the only one. And if he chafes under new Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, there is always the possibility he could resign before his term is up.

Neither Trump or his transition team has given any indication about what their intentions are for the FAA, or who might be next in line for the job.

(Image from file)

FMI: https://greatagain.gov