In his opening statement before the investigations subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, David Calhoun turned to address the families of the Boeing flight tragedies directly. Calhoun is the president and CEO of Boeing, where he was appointed in 2020.
He faced them and apologized for their losses and “the grief we [Boeing] caused.” He mentioned cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, bringing in an independent evaluator, and striving to create an environment where employees can speak up about concerns. He admitted that Boeing’s culture was far from perfect but claimed it was making progress.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) pressed Calhoun on his compensation. After several evasive answers, Hawley supplied the fact that Calhoun makes $33 million a year. Hawley asked almost sarcastically, “What exactly are you paid to do? Are you paid for transparency?” Hawley then detailed several Boeing safety failures noting that Calhoun appeared as a key contributor in covering up the problems.
“If safety is a part of your nearly $33 million salary package, how do you qualify for any of it?” Hawley asked. Hawley then questioned the treatment of whistleblowers. “We have had multiple whistle-blowers allege you have cut every corner with respect to safety,” Hawley said. “I think the truth is you are not focused on transparency — you were focusing on exactly what you were hired to do. … You are strip-mining [Boeing] for profits.”
Hawley pushed several times, “Why haven’t you resigned?” He was able to draw attention to the dodgy and incomplete answers from the Boeing leader.
Calhoun expressed how proud he is of the safety record. This was while many of the victims’ families sat a few rows behind him. Hawley drew attention to the fact that those victims were the consequences of “his safety record.” Hawley ended starkly, stating, “Frankly, sir, I think it is a tragedy you are still in your job.” You could have heard a pin drop in that room after it.
On his second round of questioning, Hawley mentioned that for decades, Boeing has taken jobs from the United States and shipped them overseas, even quoting Boeing’s chief financial officer, who recently said, “We got too far ahead of ourselves on outsourcing.”
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“Do you think the fact that you are hollowing out the company could be a factor in your airplanes falling out of the sky?” Hawley asked. Despite the initial avoidance of answering the question, Calhoun later nodded. Hawley then summarized, “I don’t think the problem is with the employees; I think the problem is you. I hope to God you don’t destroy this company before it is too late.”
Today, Congress did its job. It conducted serious oversight on behalf of the people. It bridged party gaps and asked tough questions. It held truth to power and was able to poke severe holes in the idea that Calhoun said he was here to “take responsibility.” It seemed all Calhoun did was dodge until he was backed into a corner where he had to admit some fault.