FAA’s Bedford fails to sell stake in Republic Airways, violating ethics agreement
Bryan Bedford, the current Administrator of the FAA, ran Republic Airways between 1999 and 2025.
Bryan Bedford, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has failed to sell his stake in Republic Airways, violating his ethics agreement that he signed in order to lead the regulator.
As first reported by The New York Times, on December 9, 2025, Maria Cantwell, a Democrat Senator and a member of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, blasted Bedford for failing to comply with his ethics agreement, namely to sell his stake in Republic Airways.
Bedford was the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the regional carrier before its merger with Mesa Airlines, leaving the company on July 2, a week before the FAA announced that Bedford became the head of the US regulator.
According to Cantwell, on December 8, the Committee received a letter from the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE), which indicated that Bedford has failed to comply with his ethics agreement. “Based on this letter, it appears you continue to retain significant equity in this conflicting asset months past the deadline set to fully divest from Republic, which constitutes a clear violation of your ethics agreement,” Cantwell wrote to the FAA Administrator.
“It has now been more than 150 days since Bedford was confirmed as FAA Administrator. According to the OGE letter, Administrator Bedford took the very unusual step of trying to amend his original ethics agreement after his confirmation, but was denied by OGE because the request didn’t meet OGE’s standards.”
Furthermore, at the same time as Bedford was looking for an amendment, Republic Airways had been in the process of merging with Mesa Airlines.
Under the merger agreement, Republic Airways’ shareholders “own approximately 88 percent of the combined company’s common stock,” which includes Bedford, the Senator pointed out.
“The extent to which this merger may increase the value of your shares in Republic – which you were supposed to divest before the merger closed – or otherwise impact your decision-making is also unclear.”
Cantwell’s letter to Bedford stated that at the time of his nomination, he held between $6 million and $30 million of restricted and unrestricted shares in the regional carrier, and his ethics agreement read that Bedford would sell his stake “as soon as practicable but not later than 90 days after my confirmation,” which happened on July 9.
“According to OGE, you broke this commitment. In a letter to the Committee, OGE informed us that you still have not divested your equity in Republic – more than 150 days after you were confirmed, in violation of your ethics agreement.”
Ted Cruz, the Republican from Texas, who is the Chair of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, has not issued a statement on the matter.
During the confirmation hearing before the same Committee, some Senators had raised their concerns about Bedford’s potential conflict of interest.
Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, noted that in 2022, when Bedford was still CEO of the regional airline, the carrier filed a petition with the FAA to exempt Republic Airways from the ‘1,500-hour rule,’ which mandates first officers to have 1,500 flight hours (FH) of training time before they can qualify for an airline transport pilot license (ATPL). A restricted ATPL, which includes future pilots obtaining a degree from a university, allows them to be first officers even before they reach the mandated 1,500 FHs.
Markey noted that while the FAA had rejected the petition, Republic Airways could view Bedford’s position as an opportunity to once again ask for the exemption, asking whether he would recuse himself “from involvement in any petition from Republic for an exemption” regarding the 1,500 FH rule.
“As you are probably well aware, I went through a rigorous OGE evaluation process. […] they created a substantial ethics agreement, which I have agreed to sign and maintain over the course of my five-year tenure,” Bedford responded.
When pressed whether he would recuse, Bedford said that he would follow the ethics agreement. However, he himself said that ethics agreement’s recusal periods do not cover his entire five-year tenure at the FAA.
Markey highlighted that the problem was also that after his nomination, Republic Airways’ board of directors agreed to accelerate the vesting of his bonus payments, meaning the airline will continue paying Bedford in 2026 and 2027, even if he will be serving the public at the FAA.
“So, I think, […] just to make it clear, you would be better off and just say that you will recuse yourself from any Republic-related decisions,” Markey continued, with Bedford responding that he assures that “there will be no conflict of interest in my decision-making if [I am] confirmed to be the FAA Administrator.
Rytis Beresnevicius
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