US Senator challenges deputy DOT nominee on policies following fatal Lion Air Crash
February 24, 2025
US Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has challenged President Donald Trump’s nomination of Steven Bradbury to serve as Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Transportation (DoT) – questioning Bradbury’s policy decisions in the wake of the fatal 2018 Lion Air 737 MAX crash.
The then-President-Elect’s selection of Bradbury, who served in Trump’s first administration as General Counsel of the DOT from 2017-2021, was first made public in January 2025. However, during a nomination hearing, Democrat Cantwell challenged Bradbury’s actions following the deadly Lion Air Flight 610 disaster; claiming “we cannot afford in the aviation sector, someone who thinks that we can bend the law to an outcome”.
Cantwell alleged that Bradbury’s policies “halted the introduction of a critical aviation safety rule subsequently advocated for by crash victim family members” just nine days after the crash; namely, the proposal requirement that aircraft manufacturers must adopt a mandatory Safety Management System (SMS).
“These finding give me serious concerns about your commitment to the transparency that Congress and the American people deserve,” she continued. “We need a leader on safety. We need someone who is going to make it the number one priority, not modify the rule to suit the industry”. Bradbury responded: “I wouldn’t say I killed the SMS rule,” adding that within a review of that specific regulation, “there were questions on the merits about which entities it should apply to”.
Cantwell has been proactive in the field of aviation safety, including introducing the FAA SMS Compliance Review Act in August 2024, requesting that the FAA perform a special technical audit of Boeing’s production line in in January 2023 and 2024, and co-leading the passage of the FAA Reauthorisation Act of 2024.
Speaking at the same hearing, Bradbury also outlined his support to improve “the efficiency and effectiveness” of US air traffic control safety systems. Noting that the process of upgrading is “too slow,” he urged the need for “new thinking” on the matter, augmented by the need to extend the capacity of training new air traffic controllers. “We still have the safest air system in the world, but we cannot fall down on the job,” he concluded. “These recent disasters are just a horrible reminder that we need to be constantly vigilant because we have a zero tolerance for commercial air disasters”.
