WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Mike Whitaker to serve as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“After 18 months without a Senate-confirmed FAA administrator, I am pleased that Mike Whitaker will step into this critically important role. Now that the FAA’s leadership void has been addressed, the Senate must put the interest of American travelers first and pass an FAA reauthorization bill. We cannot continue allowing special interests to dictate what duly-elected senators can and cannot vote on. It’s time to formalize the bipartisan agreement reached months ago so the FAA gets the resources it needs to refocus on its core mission of maintaining the highest possible safety standards for the flying public.”