WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Boeing's ( BA ) head of

government affairs and top lobbyist is leaving effective

immediately, the planemaker's CEO told employees in an email

Friday.

Ziad Ojakli will be replaced on an interim basis by Bill

McSherry, who oversees the planemaker's state and local

government operations, Boeing ( BA ) CEO Kelly Ortberg said in an

email. Ojakli took over as head of Boeing ( BA ) government

operations in September 2021 and previously headed Ford Motor ( F )

and SoftBank government affairs offices.

Boeing ( BA ) has faced a difficult year after a door plug missing

four key bolts blew off a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9

jet at 16,000 feet in January.

Ojakli, who also served as an aide to former President

George W. Bush, could not be reached for comment. Boeing ( BA )

declined to comment on the move.

The company has faced criticism from U.S. lawmakers on a

number of fronts. Boeing's ( BA ) relationship with the U.S. government

is crucial and it is a major defense contractor for the

Pentagon.

Ortberg took over in August during ongoing investigations by

the Justice Department and Federal Aviation Administration into

the mid-air emergency. He has been working to repair Boeing's ( BA )

relationship with the FAA and lawmakers. This week he held

another meeting with FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker in Seattle.

Ortberg also recently spoke with President-elect Donald

Trump and discussed potential new tariffs on China, a person

briefed on the matter said.

Last month, Boeing ( BA ) said its head of quality for commercial

airplanes, Elizabeth Lund, would retire in December. Lund has

spearheaded the planemaker's improvement plans. In September,

Boeing ( BA ) said the head of its troubled space and defense unit was

leaving immediately.

In July, Boeing ( BA ) finalized an agreement to plead guilty to

conspiring to defraud the FAA and to pay up to $487 million.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor on Thursday rejected Boeing's ( BA )

agreement to plead guilty, faulting a diversity and inclusion

provision in the deal.