| | | |  | | By Sam Ogozalek | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Chris Marquette and Oriana Pawlyk
| | — Three SpaceX workers hired as temporary FAA employees are barred from accessing the Office of Commercial Space Transportation’s systems, ethics records reveal. — DOT has rolled back a requirement that states must get amendments to transportation funding plans OK’d in Washington. — A section of Interstate 40, a crucial link between North Carolina and Tennessee, has partially reopened five months after Hurricane Helene inundated the area. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. We’re glad you’re here. Send tips, feedback and song lyrics to Sam at sogozalek@politico.com, Chris at cmarquette@politico.com and Oriana at opawlyk@politico.com and follow us at @SamOgozalek, @ChrisMarquette_ and @Oriana0214. “We’re happy, Ma, we’re having fun/ The train ain’t even left the station (oh, children)/ (Hey, little train, wait for me)/ (I once was blind but now I see).” Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l: The airline industry should never stop working to enhance safety, and pilot training is at the heart of that effort. U.S. airline pilots train extensively as a team to handle complex scenarios, helping to ensure safe travel for millions. Challenges in aviation are met with learning and improvement, reinforcing protocols and best practices. Explore how ongoing investments in pilot training and safety advancements work together to protect passengers on every flight. Learn more. | | | | | MORE SUNLIGHT: Three SpaceX senior engineers embedded at the FAA are prohibited from accessing systems that are specific to the agency’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which licenses SpaceX launches, according to conflict of interest waivers obtained by POLITICO. Sam has the scoop. — DOT’s deputy general counsel signed the documents the day after agency chief Sean Duffy announced that SpaceX workers would visit an FAA facility in Virginia to learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike and “envision” improvements. WHO ARE THEY?: The engineers — Brady Glantz, Theodore Malaska and Thomas Kiernan — are known as special government employees, or SGEs, at the FAA. Their status as unpaid SGEs is considered temporary and they are allowed to stay employed at SpaceX, subject to federal criminal conflict of interest requirements. Their waivers, which POLITICO obtained from DOT’s ethics office, show that the trio are allowed to participate in matters that may have a “direct and predictable effect” on SpaceX. (The records said Glantz, Malaska and Kiernan would be SGEs for four days, though Malaska’s FAA employment and waiver were later extended for an unspecified amount of time.) OTHER LIMITATIONS: Aside from the prohibition on accessing AST systems, the waivers say they “may not make any decisions” regarding federal funding or contract awards to SpaceX. They also can’t participate in lobbying or fundraising activities on behalf of Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company while employed at the FAA.
| | REVERTING BACK: A DOT spokesperson confirmed Friday that the agency will stop requiring that amendments to state transportation funding plans, commonly known as STIPs, be reviewed at its headquarters in Washington before they’re approved. Chris has the story. It’s a reversal for the Trump administration, whose initial mandate sparked confusion among state and local officials, as well as worries that the centralized reviews could lead to project delays. — FHWA on Friday in an email to staff, including division administrators, said that offices should “continue the standard planning review and approval process” for STIPs and other programs.
| | TRAFFIC RESUMES: A stretch of Interstate 40 connecting North Carolina and Tennessee reopened Saturday after it collapsed into the Pigeon River during Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic flooding, which devastated the mountainous region in late September. Only one lane is open in each direction, and the speed limit is 35 mph, so expect delays. Duffy in an X post touted the accomplishment, but said there’s “still a lot of work to do.” — Duffy previously said the rebuild will be “the most expensive emergency relief project that we’ve ever had.” A North Carolina DOT spokesperson told us last month that the agency expects I-40 repairs to potentially cost around $1 billion.
| | | | A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l:  
| | | | | STILL UNCLEAR: Oriana has a deep look into Musk’s attacks on a potential Starlink competitor, Verizon, and the billionaire’s promotion of his own satellite business as a possible solution to upgrading a key air traffic control communications system. (Verizon has the existing $2.4 billion FAA contract.) — On Friday, Malaska, the SpaceX senior engineer who recently said he was “super excited” to be working with the FAA, in an X post said the agency is modernizing its communications infrastructure and that “we’ve” upgraded an automated weather station in Alaska using Starlink — whose parent company is SpaceX — and a “solution” from AT&T and “@mettel,” a potential reference to telecom company MetTel. “Over the next 30 days the FAA will evaluate performance of this new design,” Malaska said. CANTWELL RAISES CONCERNS: Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, in a statement Friday said Musk’s recent X posts about air traffic control suggest he’s interested in seeing the Verizon contract get canceled “in favor of a sole source installation of his Starlink services” — which raises “serious red flags.” — “We need answers now about how the [Trump administration] will enforce these laws to ensure aviation safety takes precedence over private gain,” she said. ANOTHER LETTER: Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), the ranking member on Commerce’s aviation panel, wrote to the acting administrators of the FAA and NASA on Friday requesting that they provide any records or correspondence with Musk or his so-called Department of Government Efficiency regarding companies the billionaire has a financial interest in by March 7. — “Congress has yet to receive responses from the White House or the [Office of Government Ethics] regarding Mr. Musk’s compliance with federal criminal conflicts of interest law and other ethics and reporting requirements,” the letter adds. DETAILS INCOMING: It’s March, and that means the NTSB’s preliminary report on the deadly regional jet-Army helicopter crash above the Potomac River is expected to be released soon, given the usual timeline for such reports. — Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told your MT host late last week that he’s heard it's incoming, but doesn’t know exactly when.
| | GETTING THE OK: The FAA said Friday it has cleared SpaceX’s Starship to return to flight for its eighth test while an ongoing company-led investigation continues into the dramatic Jan. 16 explosion of the last craft over Turks and Caicos. SpaceX says the mishap seems to have been caused by a leak in what’s known as the “attic,” with a subsequent rise in pressure and a fire. — The agency authorized Starship’s Flight 8 to launch from Boca Chica, Texas, saying it determined that the firm met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements. SpaceX is targeting today for the mission.
| | CLOSING DOWN: DOT appears to have shuttered its long-running Climate Change Center, which helped states and local governments navigate rules around spending federal dollars on projects that address global warming, Mike Lee reports for POLITICO’s E&E News. The agency didn’t respond to questions about the program’s status. In the past month, its website has gone dark, and other outreach efforts have ceased, a former leader of the office said. — There have been few, if any, layoffs. Instead, most of the staff had other duties at the department, and they have shifted to those responsibilities.
| | — Adriana Rivera will be director of government affairs and defense at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. She is currently a military legislative assistant for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). (h/t Playbook)
| | — “How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy.” New York Times. — “FedEx Plane Lands at Newark Airport With Engine on Fire After Striking Bird.” New York Times. — “No Trains, No Planes, and Huge Protests: Strike Brings Greece to a Halt.” New York Times. — “Nine arrested at New York Tesla dealership as anti-Musk protests break out.” Reuters. — “GM’s electric gains face critical test as Trump targets EV subsidies.” Reuters. — “Track One Car Part’s Journey Through the U.S., Canada and Mexico—Before Tariffs.” Wall Street Journal. — “The Chinese EV Maker Threatening Ford and GM.” Wall Street Journal. — “Valeo Shares Plunge After Carmakers Cancel, Delay Orders.” Wall Street Journal. — “Some government employees are instructed — again — to not respond to 5 things email as Musk doubles down.” POLITICO. — “Layoffs upend key office for commercial space.” POLITICO Pro. — “What 130-day cap? Musk is ‘here to stay’ in the Trump admin, adviser says.” POLITICO Pro.
| | A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l: Airline safety depends on constant vigilance, learning, adaptation, and the shared experience and expertise of a 2-pilot flightcrew. All U.S. airline pilots go through extensive training to prepare for any situation, and the industry continuously refines its training based on experience and new technological capabilities. When challenges arise, each lesson learned informs a safer future for air travel. See how pilot training and industry-wide collaboration keep safety at the forefront of every decision in the American airline industry. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | |
