Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford, President Donald Trump’s nominee for FAA chief, had some harsh words for the agency he hopes to lead, singling out alleged “malaise,” “quiet resignation” in the face of serious problems, and a lack of direction.
Bedford made those comments in response to a Senate questionnaire obtained and first reported by Reuters on Monday.
The questionnaire asked Bedford to identify the “top three challenges” facing the FAA, and he answered “trust,” “transparency,” and “leadership.”
“There appears to be no incentive for anyone at FAA to take any innovation risk for fear that it could fail,” he wrote. “You could say there was an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ attitude, but that has morphed into a quiet resignation that we ‘can’t fix it, but we can do our very best to make the system work safely today’ mindset. Ensuring the safety and the modernization of our air traffic control [ATC] system is too critical to continue down the same path.”
Bedford said that, while there are “very good, hardworking professionals” at the FAA, trust is in short supply, and “inertia permeates the agency presently.”
“The lack of trust makes many managers at FAA reluctant to speak up for fear of retribution,” he wrote. “Why take that risk when you do not trust the culture? A malaise has set in whereby managers believe the agency is helpless to make the necessary changes, and furthermore, they rationalize it isn’t really their fault.”
He also pointed to high turnover in senior positions directly under the organization’s administrator.
“Suffice to say, the lack of steady and qualified leadership helps to explain the lack of any coherent strategy or vision for the agency,” Bedford wrote.
Next Chapter
Bedford is set to appear before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday, June 11.
The FAA has been without a permanent FAA head since Trump took office. Mike Whitaker, who became agency administrator in 2023, resigned January 20 with the change in administrations.
Chris Rocheleau is serving as the agency’s acting administrator.
If ultimately confirmed, Bedford will play a critical role in the rebuilding of the nation’s ATC infrastructure, a major priority for Trump and the Department of Transportation, of which the FAA is a part.
