Mike Whitaker, unanimously confirmed as the FAA administrator in October 2023, stepped down early from his five-year term on Jan. 20 when Trump took office and for 10 days the FAA declined to say who was running the agency on an acting basis. Trump has not yet named a permanent candidate to replace Whitaker.

President Trump on Thursday named Chris Rocheleau as acting administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a fatal plane crash near Washington, D.C. The big picture: Rocheleau worked at the FAA for more than two decades and most recently served as an executive at a professional aviation association.