I am a big proponent of the FAA. I think they're genrrally one of the best run government organizations in the world. American aviation has an incredible safety record, is very cheap, and accessible

Even I have a lot of reservations about this. Sean Duffy being front and center of the photo op indicated political influence. Combine that with the timing, weeks before the midterm, and it seems like the administration pushed for a political win, overruling the FAA's usual processes

I certainly will prefer not to fly on one for the first several years of service

And considering who is appointing the leadership of our regulatory agencies and the regulations they are making (see: FDA, USDA, etc), I’m guessing the former. It’s all pay-to-play now. I will be unsurprised if we find out in a few years that Boeing greased a bunch of palms to get this done.