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related: _Rick Larsen Master Profile Boeing Graves
donors: Boeing
The Transportation Committee and Boeing Alignment
Rick Larsen serves as ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, with particular focus on the Aviation Subcommittee. Larsen represents Washington’s 2nd District — the Puget Sound region north of Seattle, which includes Boeing’s Everett factory, the largest building by volume in the world, where 787 Dreamliners are assembled.
Larsen’s Transportation Committee seat and Aviation Subcommittee focus create a direct pipeline to Boeing: the company’s commercial aviation operations are regulated through FAA reauthorization (which T&I oversees), and Larsen’s committee jurisdiction covers the regulatory framework that determines how Boeing aircraft are certified, inspected, and maintained. Boeing PAC is consistently one of Larsen’s top donors.
The Boeing Safety Crisis
The Boeing 737 MAX crisis — two crashes killing 346 people (Lion Air, October 2018; Ethiopian Airlines, March 2019), followed by the January 2024 Alaska Airlines door plug blowout — created a sustained challenge for Boeing-aligned members like Larsen. As ranking member overseeing aviation, Larsen was forced to balance his constituency interest (Boeing employment) with his oversight obligation (aviation safety). His response: supporting FAA oversight reforms while defending Boeing’s Washington workforce.
Money
Larsen’s district depends on Boeing employment — the Everett factory alone employs 30,000+ workers. Boeing PAC’s contributions to the ranking member of the committee that oversees FAA regulation of Boeing aircraft create the classic committee-jurisdiction-fundraising loop. The 737 MAX crisis tested this relationship: Larsen supported FAA safety reforms (the public demand) while opposing measures that could have shifted 737 MAX production away from Washington (the economic demand). The political output: reformed oversight without structural consequences for Boeing’s operations.
Sources
- Congress.gov: Rick Larsen member profile (Tier 1)
- OpenSecrets: Rick Larsen campaign finance summary (Tier 1)
- Ballotpedia: Rick Larsen (Tier 3)
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