FAA nominee Bryan Bedford’s revolving door path creates a shocking conflict of interest.
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Aviation safety has, unfortunately, been under the spotlight during the first few months of the Trump administration. On January 29th, in the first major commercial crash since 2009, 67 people died when an American Eagle commercial flight collided with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport. A Bering Air crash in Alaska killed 10 people. A Delta flight crashed and flipped in Toronto. There have been over two dozen small plane and helicopter crashes, most of which were deadly.
At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been in turmoil: conflicting messages from leadership and DOGE regarding deferred resignation offers and hiring freezes, termination of several hundred FAA employees involved in roles related to safety, and repeated proclamations from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the FAA will implement AI for use in air safety. (For a full run down of plane crashes and the administration’s attacks on air safety, see our Aviation Disaster Tracker that is updated weekly.)
Nearly two months after Elon Musk reportedly forced out the previous administrator and acting head Chris Rocheleau was appointed following the crash at Reagan National, Trump has finally nominated an FAA administrator. The nominee is, of course, not a career civil servant at the FAA or an expert in aviation safety, but Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford. With Bedford stepping into this leadership role at the most turbulent time for air safety in recent memory, it’s worth looking back at his record as Republic CEO. His revolver status calls into question whether he will put the interests of workers and passengers over those of his former colleagues.
Bedford’s Revolver Status Will Immediately Cause A Conflict of Interest
If confirmed as FAA administrator, Bedford will oversee a review of the recently announced merger between Republic Airways and Mesa Air. Any competition concerns stemming from the consolidation of two of the largest regional airlines will be reviewed by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, but the FAA does play a role—reviewing the mergers’ effect on safety.
When two airlines combine, the newly formed company must register with the FAA for an operating certificate. The FAA requires the merged airline to “demonstrate that it will operate at the highest levels of safety” in order to be granted the certificate. According to the FAA, this involves a “lengthy, six-phase process” where FAA inspectors examine factors including personnel turnover, changes to operational control systems, maintenance and inspection programs, training materials, and more.
This review is especially important when considering the mergers of regional airlines. While air travel is still very safe, there is statistically a “higher accident rate” and “more problems” with regional airlines according to Bill McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, who spoke with USA Today about the increased scrutiny of regional flights.
Still in his role as Republic CEO, Bedford issued a press release about the merger, saying it is “creating value for all stakeholders.” It’s clear where Bedford stands on approval. Should he be confirmed, one can only hope that he will recuse himself and the FAA’s safety review remains thorough and unbiased.
Of course, given the reprisals against civil servants doing their job that are so rife under President Trump, do we really think that FAA staff can be trusted to assess anything involving Republic Airways in an unbiased manner, knowing they are already susceptible to being fired capriciously?
Bedford Tried To Reduce Training Hours For Republic Pilots
Speaking of safety, I think we can all agree that requiring a significant amount of training hours for pilots is a good thing… right? Well, according to a 2022 exemption request filed by Republic Airways to the FAA, Bedford disagrees.
Republic applied for an exemption to the 2010 Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act that required pilots to accrue 1,500 total flight hours in order to operate a commercial airline. Rather than adhere to that standard, Republic argued that pilots who graduate from its flight school need only 750 training hours, on par with the hours required for military pilots with certain qualifications. The FAA disagreed, stating that Republic’s training program was not “sufficiently comparable to the training program of a military branch to warrant a reduction in flight hours.”
Republic and its supporters in the public comment period, including Republican Senator Mike Braun (who represents Indiana, where Republic is based) also argued that the exemption was necessary to address an alleged pilot shortage. The FAA again disagreed, but this contention indicates Bedford’s deregulatory mindset. Rather than address a shortage by, say, increasing pay and benefits, Bedford would rather do away with pesky regulations that prioritize air safety.
This line of thinking from Bedford is unsurprising—he previously blamed a pilot shortage for his own shortcomings as CEO. In 2016, Bedford led Republic in filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming it was necessary because the airline did not have enough pilots. The real reason, however, may have been its purchase of “$3 billion order for planes that don’t fit into existing operations” and the $10 million a month spent on “leases for small, out-of-demand planes” that USA Today reported at the time.
Anti-Union And Anti-Tax Positions
Bedford’s opposition to the 1,500 hour rule put him at odds with the Air Line Pilots Association, which has already voiced concerns about his nomination for this reason, but this was just one aspect of Bedford’s long contentious relationship with unions.
Speaking to students at Liberty University in 2019, Bedford described his experience lecturing workers in labor relations and negotiations. In Bedford’s words, he was the finance guy “telling the labor guys ‘while you’re giving away the store, you’re gonna kill us.’”
Bedford was also asked about the future of artificial intelligence taking over some aspects of pilots’ jobs. Bedford responded that it was unlikely, both because Congress “doesn’t have the courage” to go to a single pilot cockpit operated with artificial intelligence assistance and because there is not a “more powerful lobby than the pilot union,” which wouldn’t allow it. While Bedford did close by saying he doesn’t see technology as a “replacement” for people, he is poised to join an administration that is openly antagonistic to unions and eagerly seeking to implement AI throughout government, including at the FAA.
Before Bedford realized he could blame pilots and regulators for his woes, he had his sights set on every CEO’s enemy: taxes. In 2010, Bedford was a member of the Department of Transportation’s Future of Aviation Advisory Committee serving on the Subcommittee on Competitiveness and Viability. His key contribution was a presentation titled Analysis of Industry Tax Policy, where he asserted that current tax policy was not benefiting industry and consumers. He also urged the Subcommittee to agree to oppose future taxes according to the meeting’s minutes.
Bedford’s Nomination Hearing
Bedford has yet to receive a hearing date, but Senators need to be prepared to grill him on this record. His long history of advocating for deregulation, cutting taxes, and his antagonistic approach in negotiating with workers is highly concerning. Judging from that past, it’s unlikely that he will push back on Secretary Duffy’s and DOGE’s plans to shorten the process for hiring air traffic controllers, implement AI, and fire employees. Assuming that Senators are on board with this nomination anyway, Bedford will be yet another Trump nominee that represents the interests of the industry he revolved from above all else.
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