The top five appointed FAA staffers resigned on Thursday, a day after the U.S. Capitol was overrun by supporters of President Donald Trump. In a statement, the FAA said, “These resignations will be effective Monday evening. Our colleagues’ decision, given the gravity of yesterday’s events, are understandable. Like all of us, they are outraged by the brazen and violent attack on one of the sacred institutions of American democracy.”
The departures were announced in an email by the FAA Chief of Staff Angela Stubblefield. The five who resigned were high-ranking officials in the agency. They are Arjun Garg, who in addition to being chief counsel is also the acting deputy FAA administrator; Brianna Manzelli, assistant administrator for communications; Kirk Shaffer, who was assistant administrator for Airports; Bailey Edwards, the assistant administrator for the environment, policy, and international affairs, and Andrew Giacini, acting administrator for legislative affairs.
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson mentioned the resignations during a video statement about the assault, thanking them for their service to the FAA during their tenures. In a video message, Dickson called the events on Capitol Hill on Wednesday “reprehensible and unpardonable.”
Dickson, whose boss at DoT, Secretary Elaine Chao, resigned earlier over the capitol assault, has said that he intends to stay on at the FAA through his term’s end in 2024, at the discretion of President Elect Biden.
