Senate Commerce Committee vets Stephen Bradbury nomination amid sharp questions on aviation safety and past conduct

Stephen Bradbury, the president's nominee to be deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, told the Senate Commerce Committee he would prioritize safety and efficiency if confirmed, but senators pressed him over his prior roles at DOJ and DOT and the department's response to recent aviation incidents.

Bradbury said he would "devote myself to helping the secretary advance safety and efficiency through faithful application of the authorities and resources granted by Congress," and pledged to be transparent with the committee. Chairman Crews opened the hearing by endorsing Bradbury's experience as DOT general counsel and as acting deputy, and noted letters of support from transportation groups.

Why it matters: The deputy secretary oversees much of DOT's daily operations. Senators focused on whether Bradbury's prior decisions and legal work affected safety oversight, particularly during the period surrounding the Boeing 737 MAX crashes and the department's subsequent investigations.

Ranking Member Senator Maria Cantwell questioned Bradbury's record at DOJ and at DOT, citing past legal opinions and a December 2020 committee investigative report. Cantwell said those records "found evidence that your office 'intentionally withheld relevant information requested by the committee' and 'improperly redacted information in documents,'" and raised concerns about whether the general counsel's office had impeded oversight of the 737 MAX probe. Cantwell also said the General Counsel's Office sidelined a proposed mandatory safety management systems (SMS) rule nine days after the first MAX crash.

Bradbury denied that he stopped SMS rulemaking for cost savings reasons and said he "strongly support[s] safety management systems as an approach to regulation." He told the committee he had not "killed the SMS rule" and expressed willingness to work with the committee to implement mandatory SMS requirements now codified by statute.

Senators from both parties pressed Bradbury on a range of other safety-related items. Several Republican senators asked about operational changes to FAA hiring and cited the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024's requirements on controller hiring; Bradbury agreed that air traffic controllers and other safety-critical staff should be exempt from staffing reductions and said the secretary has indicated that safety-critical positions are being preserved.

Other senators raised the 2016 amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act concerning interrogation techniques and asked about Bradbury's prior work at DOJ; Ranking Member Cantwell recounted that Bradley's earlier legal advice was controversial and had previously affected his confirmation prospects.

Bradbury described his background — clerking on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, private practice, service at the Department of Justice, and his earlier tenure as DOT general counsel — and said the department must focus on modernizing systems, expanding air-traffic capacity, and improving transparency with Congress.

The hearing continued through a series of targeted questions from committee members about program pauses, enforcement of DOT rules, commercial space licensing, and workforce and hiring priorities. Senators will submit additional questions for the record; the committee gave the nominee until a set deadline to answer those requests.

Looking ahead: No vote occurred during the hearing. Senators will have the opportunity to file questions for the record; the committee concluded by entering letters of support into the record and adjourning.