FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker will quit on 20th January 2025, he advised employees in a memo yesterday.   Whitaker has overseen the FAA response to significant safety issues at Boeing since a mid-air emergency in January, and will step down when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump and set to be appointed head of a proposed presidential advisory commission “Department of Government Efficiency”, is no fan of Whitaker’s.  In September Musk called for Whitaker’s resignation and heavily criticized the FAA’s decision to impose a $633,00p fine on SpaceX after the FAA said the company had violated launch license requirements.

Separately, Donald Trump has plans to oust many officials before their terms expire but had not specified plans for the FAA.

Whitaker, who was confirmed to a five-year term as FAA administrator in October 2023, will leave his position on Jan. 20, the day Trump is inaugurated for his second term in the White House.