President Donald Trump on Thursday appointed Christopher Rocheleau, who has a 22-year career in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as the agency’s acting administrator.
Trump announced Rocheleau’s appointment during a White House briefing, where the president addressed the horrific crash between a Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 over the Potomac River in Washington, DC, leaving 67 dead and no survivors.
“I’m also immediately appointing an acting commissioner to the FAA, Christopher Rocheleau, a 22-year veteran of the agency,” Trump said, noting Rocheleau is “highly respected.”
“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,” Trump added.
A Chamber of Commerce biography on Rocheleau details his impressive resume, including his work as chief operating officer of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) following his more than two-decade career in the FAA:
Prior to joining NBAA, Rocheleau served the FAA with distinction for over 20 years in multiple roles including acting associate administrator for aviation safety, chief of staff, assistant administrator for policy, international affairs and environment, executive director for international affairs and director of the office of emergency operations and investigations.
Before joining the agency, he served as an officer and special agent with the United States Air Force, retiring from the USAF Reserve in 2010 as a lieutenant colonel. He was also among the first leaders of the Transportation Security Administration.
Aviation International News (AIN), citing anonymous sources, reported on January 23 that Rocheleau would return to the agency as FAA deputy administrator. The agency and the White House did not appear to confirm AIN’s reporting prior to Thursday’s announcement.
Rocheleau and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are tasked with ending Biden-era diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the FAA and Department of Transportation, as set forth by Trump’s January 21 executive action directing them to return to “merit-based hiring” for all positions, including air traffic controllers.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are conducting an investigation into the crash, but Trump ripped into former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former President Joe Biden for the DEI initiatives imposed in the agency during the previous adminsitration, as Breitbart News reported.
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