Senators seek probe into FAA chief’s delayed Republic Airways stock sale

Three Democratic senators have asked a federal watchdog to examine whether Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford violated his ethics agreement by holding onto Republic Airways stock past the divestiture deadline and benefiting from a merger that boosted the value of his stake.

Maria Cantwell, Tammy Duckworth and Ed Markey say Bedford was required to sell his Republic equity by October 7, 2025, and certify compliance by October 14. Instead, they say he filed an October 7 certification showing only partial compliance and asking for more time, then waited until February to complete the divestiture. At the time of his confirmation, Bedford reported Republic stock worth between $6 million and $30 million, a holding that has become the center of the dispute.

The senators say the timing mattered because Republic Airways announced its merger with Mesa Air Group on April 7, 2025, months before Bedford’s divestiture deadline. Mesa stockholders approved the deal on November 17, 2025, and the transaction closed on November 25, 2025. Under the merger terms, Republic stockholders ended up owning about 88% of the combined company. Senate Democrats say Bedford’s original 16,733 Republic shares became more than 652,470 shares in the merged company, raising the appearance that he kept his stake long enough to benefit from a lucrative corporate event.

Bedford was sworn in as FAA administrator in July 2025 and now leads a workforce of more than 40,000 employees. That makes the ethics fight more than a personnel dispute. The FAA oversees aviation safety, airline operations and public confidence in a system that depends on the regulator’s independence from the companies it supervises. When the agency’s chief is accused of delaying a stock sale tied to a regulated airline merger, the concern reaches beyond one portfolio and into the credibility of the office itself.

The senators said the Office of Government Ethics notified them in December that Bedford had violated his ethics agreement. Cantwell’s office also pointed to the scale of the post-merger company, saying the combined airline held a 310-aircraft E-Jet fleet, described as the world’s largest Embraer E-Jet fleet. Cantwell had previously pressed Bedford on the stock issue in a hearing, arguing that the delayed sale raised serious ethics questions.

The FAA said it would respond directly to the senators. The complaint arrives as Bedford pushes a broad public safety agenda at the agency, including a major reorganization, a 10% flight reduction at 40 high-traffic airports, replacement of aging radar systems and $10,000 bonuses for 776 air traffic controllers and technicians. The ethics dispute now threatens to shadow that work and test whether the nation’s top aviation regulator can separate public duty from private gain.