FAA nominee to face Hill grilling

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With help from Sam Ogozalek and Ry Rivard
QUICK FIX
— President Donald Trump's pick for FAA administrator, Bryan Bedford, will face senators this week for his confirmation hearing. He's in for some tough questions.
— Elon Musk and Trump's public war of words has calmed down (a bit). But Republicans on Capitol Hill fret that the situation could derail the GOP's reconciliation package.
— Trump says he won't cut his 25 percent auto tariffs. But that could hamstring trade talks with the EU, Japan and South Korea, who still think the duties are on the table.
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Driving the day
FINALLY A HEARING: Bryan Bedford, the Republic Airways executive slated to be the Trump administration's next FAA administrator, will be in the Senate Commerce Committee hot seat. And we expect questions about his past stance on commercial pilot certification requirements and his plans to right the ship at FAA (with fewer employees, thanks to DOGE). Senators will want to hear how he plans to grapple with a host of challenges, namely the first major aviation disaster in nearly two decades.
— To recap: Bedford's past positions on pilot training will put him at odds with Democrats especially, who have strongly objected to any changes to a longstanding rule requiring commercial pilots to have 1,500 hours of flight time. Republic Airways in 2022 asked the FAA for an exception to the rule in an attempt to train and get pilots in cockpits at its airline faster, but the FAA rejected the request. (And in general regional airlines have wanted the rules to be relaxed, saying they're crimping pilot supply.)
— Not budging: Bedford has met Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), the ranking member on the Senate Commerce aviation panel, on the issue. Afterward, she issued a statement saying whoever heads up the FAA needs to ensure the 1,500-hour rule for pilot training remains in place.
— The big ticket: Bedford will no doubt get questions about how he plans to push forward the Trump administration's ambitious plan to fix decades-long air traffic control woes — and he'll likely get some uncomfortable questions about the extent to which the agency's workforce has been hollowed out by resignations and early probationary firings. Expect questions about the concerning outages at Newark Liberty International Airport, as well.
On The Hill
SECLUDED: Elon Musk is leaving Washington with few political friends that could provide him cover over his businesses, chief among them Tesla — vulnerable to declining sales as the sentiment around electric vehicles continues to plummet. E&E News' David Ferris reports that Musk for months has worked his way to isolate the usual liberal base who once favored his electric cars, and now as he tries to turn more lawmakers away from the GOP megabill, he's whittling out any friends he possibly had in the federal government.
TAKING A BEAT: While Musk and President Donald Trump each took a (small) step back from their ongoing public row over the bill — specifically about the legislation's removal of EV tax credits and other incentives — the die nonetheless was cast. Republicans' worry was in full gear by Friday morning that their fight could distract from the president's agenda and derail Congress' 'Big Beautiful Bill.' POLITICO's Congress team got lawmakers' reaction — mostly hoping for a quick detente.
TOW COMING?: As of Friday morning, the Tesla Model S Trump showcased back in March on the White House lawn — and also purchased — was still parked there, though The Wall Street Journal reported Trump is considering selling the car, which retails for $80,000. (Fox News, meanwhile, said it was as good as gone).
WHAT ELSE IS AT STAKE: Speaking of how Musk's firms could fare amid the ongoing feud, a POLITICO team has you covered on all the ways in which his business empire could take a hit if his fight with Trump escalates.
EV/HYBRID FEE ON TAP?: The electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle annual registration fees included in the House-passed reconciliation bill were not in the Senate EPW title or the Senate Commerce title, but they could appear in the bill that comes out of the Senate Finance Committee. Some lawmakers, like Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) want to make the $250 EV fee and $100 hybrid fee even steeper than the House proposal, but it remains to be seen what actually gets into the bill.
SOME SUNLIGHT?: The House is scheduled to consider today a bill by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), H.R. 188, that would subject Amtrak's board of directors to open meeting requirements. The House Transportation Committee approved it by voice vote in April.
Automobiles
SEEKING A REPRIEVE: Trump says he won't cut his 25 percent auto tariffs as part of any trade deals he negotiates with other countries — but the EU, Japan and South Korea think those duties are still on the table, according to two people familiar with those talks, Daniel Desrochers and Megan Messerly report. If Trump is unwilling to reduce or nix his car tariffs, it could generate a major obstacle to securing meaningful deals.
RESETTING CAFE STANDARDS: NHTSA on Friday published a rule to reset the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, a move that would allow it to not consider electric vehicles when outlining fuel economy regulations. It marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to hit against the electric vehicle industry and Democrat-implemented regulations. Opponents of the Biden administration's CAFE standards, including DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and a wide array of other Republicans, contend that the per gallon requirements operate as an electric vehicle mandate.
— 'The previous administration illegally used CAFE standards as an electric vehicle mandate – raising new car prices and reducing safety. Resetting CAFE standards as Congress intended will lower vehicle costs and ensure the American people can purchase the cars they want,' Duffy said in a statement. Alex Guillén has the details.
RECONCILIATION TIE: The Senate Commerce Committee last week unveiled its part of the reconciliation package that proposes to eliminate penalties on automakers that don't comply with CAFE standards.
drones
ALL THE BUZZ: Trump on Friday signed two executive orders intended to give the U.S. drone industry a leg up over foreign-made counterparts and to expedite drone and air taxi operations stateside. Oriana has more.
KEEP IT U.S.: One provision outlines efforts to expand access to U.S.-manufactured drones and promote them as U.S. exports, in an effort to push federal agencies away from foreign-made drones from companies like China-based DJI that the federal government has said poses privacy or security concerns.
— DJI Friday responded to the orders, saying it has 'always supported technically grounded minimum security requirements across all UAS manufacturers, regardless of their country of origin' and that it 'welcomes and embraces opportunities to demonstrate our privacy controls and security features.'
Aviation
SUPER SPEED: Trump also issued an executive order Friday calling for the FAA to get rid of existing prohibitions on supersonic flight over U.S. land. Oriana has more details.
NEWARK FLIGHT LIMIT IN EFFECT: The FAA formally imposed its 28 arrivals and departures per hour limit at Newark on Friday, which puts the restrictions in place during airport construction on weekends from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. Arrivals and departures won't exceed 34 of each per hour the rest of the time through Oct. 25.
TINY JUMP: House Republican appropriators on Sunday unveiled their fiscal 2026 DHS funding bill ahead of a subcommittee markup today. TSA would get a slight bump to $11.2 billion, a less than 1 percent increase compared to current funding. Jennifer Scholtes has the story.
DOGE WATCH
WE WANT YOU BACK: The Washington Post on Friday reported that DOGE's slash and burn of federal workers is now coming home to roost, with the Trump administration scrambling to get experienced employees back at many agencies stifled with a deeper workload since their colleagues were haphazardly dismissed or pushed to take an early resignation offer. As MT readers recall, Chris and Sam broke down similar movement happening within the halls of DOT.
Infrastructure
TRUMP FUNDING GATEWAY: The Trump administration is recommending $700 million in the 2026 budget for the Hudson River train tunnel, the $16 billion project to bolster the connection between New York and New Jersey. The funding recommendation by the FTA is a sign that President Donald Trump is no longer attempting to upend the Gateway program, as he did by slow rolling it during his first term.
— Elements of the tunnel project are already under construction and employing union workers. According to a recent Regional Plan Association report, the Gateway program could generate 'close to $445 billion in economic benefits' in coming decades.
The Autobahn
— 'Trump's FAA Pick Once Played a Flight Attendant on TV. It Drew FAA Scrutiny.' The Wall Street Journal.
— 'Counting Up the Potential Costs of the Trump-Musk Rift.' The New York Times.
— 'Boeing Poised to Restart Jet Handovers to China Amid Trade Spat.' Bloomberg.
— 'Trump Has Power, a Big Megaphone and Billions to Spend. So Does Musk.' The New York Times.
— 'Trump wants a manufacturing boom. The industry is buckling.' POLITICO.
— 'Trump administration says it'll work with state on Long Island traffic crashes.' Newsday.
— 'Over the moon: How the Trump-Musk feud helps the lunar mission.' POLITICO.
— 'Exclusive: United shuts down Starlink Wi-Fi on regional jets.' The Points Guy.
— 'Costco cards good for 'hot dogs & rotisserie chickens,' not airports, TSA says.' USA TODAY.
— 'No fatalities reported after skydiving plane crashes in Tennessee, officials say.' CNN.
Know of an event we should have on our calendar? Let MT know at transpocalendar@politicopro.com.

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It sounds sick, but Iran hostilities may be good for stocks

It sounds sick, but Iran hostilities may be good for stocks originally appeared on TheStreet. So, President Trump ordered B-2 bombers to drop bunker-busting bombs on three Iranian nuclear facilities late Saturday. He pronounced the result "a spectacular success," with Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities "completely and totally obliterated." There will be lots of media coverage Sunday and beyond on whether the operation worked and whether the United States will be dragged into a third war in the Middle East since 1991. 💵💰💰💵 A question for investors, however, is this: How will stocks react?There are some unknowns. There's been no verification that Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities are, in fact, totally obliterated. It's not clear if Iran will try to cut a deal to stop the Israeli and U.S. bombing or opt somehow to play a long game of defending itself with missile shots at Israel and U.S. military bases in the Middle East. Nonetheless, there's a good chance Wall Street will seize on the attacks as a prime stock-buying opportunity. That's what happened in 2003's Second Gulf War when U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq and toppled the dictatorial regime of Saddam started to tumble in late January 2003 as another war against Iraq became inevitable. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down as much as 9% for the year on March 11. But then investors started to believe the invasion would go well, and the S&P 500 started to recover. Indeed, when Baghdad fell on April 9, 2003, the index had recovered all the early losses and was up 8.2% from the March low. And stocks never looked back. The S&P 500 finished up 26.4% in 2023. The gain from the March 2003 low to year-end: 38%. One will be able to see how investors and markets are looking at the conflict starting at 6 p.m. ET Sunday. That's when futures trading in the S&P 500, the Dow Jones industrials and the Nasdaq-100 starts. Gains like 2003 might not happen. Iran was lobbing missiles at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa into Sunday. And, so far, there's no hint that Iran's leadership wants a cease fire. A prolonged fight might be bad for stocks. Iran has missiles and drones to deploy. It could block off Strait of Hormuz, through which 25% of the world's crude oil is shipped. Blocking the strait would send global oil prices sharply higher and cause havoc for the global economy. in fact, oil prices already have reacted. As tensions have grown between Israel and Iran (and now the United States), crude oil has climbed 29.3% to $73.84 per 42-gallon barrel from a May 5 closing low. U.S. gasoline prices have risen, too, about 4% or so, to about $3.20 a gallon, according to companies would profit. In fact, stocks in the S&P 500's Energy Sector are up 9.2% so far in June, the best performance by any of the 11 S&P 500 sectors. Oil-and-gas producer APA Corp. () , the sector leader is up 15.8% over the last month, according to data. 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The Nike revenue estimate: $10.7 billion, down 15.1% from a year ago. Earnings of 12 cents would be down 88%.It sounds sick, but Iran hostilities may be good for stocks first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 22, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data