WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today questioned Elaine Chao at her nomination hearing to be President-elect Trump’s Secretary of Transportation. Wicker specifically asked the former Secretary of Labor about the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Contract Tower Program, the Essential Air Service (EAS) program, the Merchant Marine Academy, and the “Jones Act,” which supports the U.S. maritime industry.

Wicker expressed support for Secretary Chao following their meeting last month, in which they discussed her decades of experience in public service and firsthand knowledge of serving in a President’s cabinet.

The FAA Contract Tower program is critical to air traffic control safety at many of the nation’s small airports, including seven in Mississippi.

Wicker is a member of the board of visitors at the Merchant Marine Academy. He was supportive of Secretary Foxx’s decision to lift the suspension of the Sea Year on commercial vessels for midshipmen, ensuring the preservation of a critical training program at the academy.