Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington withdrew his name from consideration to lead the Federal Aviation Administration over the weekend, saying he can’t see a “respectful, civil, and viable path forward to Senate confirmation.”

“This was a decision that I did not make lightly,” Washington said in a statement. “I faced cheap and unfounded partisan attacks and procedural obstruction with regard to my military career that would have further lengthened the already delayed confirmation process.”

He added: “With that said, I decided that for the good of the FAA and the country, I would withdraw my name from consideration. I wanted to put the country first and in doing so, I stepped aside to allow for the administration and the committee to do the same by accelerating the confirmation of a permanent leader.”

The FAA has been without a Senate-confirmed administrator for nearly a year.

Senate Republicans said Washington was unqualified to serve, citing his limited aviation experience and failure to answer some key questions. Democrats were forced to cancel a planned committee vote last week on his confirmation after some senators remained undecided.

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent, said on Monday that the administration should “quickly nominate a permanent FAA administrator with the necessary, substantial aviation safety experience and expertise.”

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the ranking Republican on the Commerce Committee, said the Biden administration “must now quickly name someone to head the FAA who has an extensive aviation background, can earn widespread bipartisan support in the Senate, and will keep the flying public safe.”

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet accused Republicans of waging an “unfair campaign” against Washington. 

Despite the attacks, Washington, he said, “demonstrated integrity throughout his confirmation process and never wavered in his commitment to serve the country that he loves.”

“Phil would have made an outstanding FAA administrator, but my colleagues resorted to cheap partisan politics instead of putting the American people first,” Bennet added. 

In a tweet, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged Washington’s withdrawal. 

The FAA needs a confirmed Administrator, and Phil Washington’s transportation & military experience made him an excellent nominee. The partisan attacks and procedural obstruction he has faced are undeserved, but I respect his decision to withdraw and am grateful for his service.

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) March 26, 2023

“The FAA needs a confirmed Administrator, and Phil Washington’s transportation & military experience made him an excellent nominee,” Buttigieg said. “The partisan attacks and procedural obstruction he has faced are undeserved, but I respect his decision to withdraw and am grateful for his service.”

The FAA has faced numerous safety questions in the last several months.

In January, the agency halted all departing passenger airline flights for nearly two hours because of a pilot messaging database outage, the first nationwide ground stop of its kind since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Last week, the FAA issued a safety alert to airlines, pilots and others about the “need for continued vigilance and attention to mitigation of safety risks” after a series of high-profile near collisions.

Six serious runway incursions since January prompted the agency to convene a safety summit this month.

Reuters reporter David Shepardson contributed in this article.