President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration long described himself in his official biography as being certified to fly aircraft commercially — but records examined by POLITICO show that he does not hold any commercial license.
Commercial License Controversy
Bryan Bedford’s biography at Republic Airways, the regional airline where he has been CEO since 1999, said until Thursday that he “holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings.” (By Friday, after POLITICO’s inquiries, the word “commercial” had been removed.) The FAA registry that houses data on pilot’s licenses does not list any such commercial credentials for Bedford.
Similar language asserting commercial credentials for Bedford appeared in his Republic bio since at least 2010, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
FAA Nomination Implications
Questions about Bedford’s credentials do not appear to threaten his prospects for heading the FAA, an agency trying to recover from years of high-level leadership shake-ups, failures of key aviation technology, a spate of near-misses in the skies and January’s 67-fatality crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Bedford didn’t respond to multiple attempts by POLITICO to request comment, nor did Republic. The White House referred questions to DOT.
DOT defended Bedford, who would be the latest in a string of licensed pilots confirmed to lead the aviation agency. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on his nomination earlier this week.
Expert Insights
Darren Pleasance, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a trade group for private airplane owners, said earning any pilot’s license — including for commercial planes — requires written and oral exams and also a “check ride” conducted by a licensed FAA examiner, who evaluates a person’s skill at actually flying a plane.
Another aviation expert familiar with the licensing process, granted anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive topic, said that “if you haven’t successfully gone through all of that, no one should claim to have a certain rating — because they don’t have it.”
Confirmation Hearing Details
At Bedford’s confirmation hearing Wednesday, Republican senators repeatedly praised his fitness for the FAA job — including Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who called him “exactly the type of innovative leader” the agency needs. Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz of Texas added that “as a pilot, Mr. Bedford understands how important it is for pilots to go through rigorous training.”
Democrats at the hearing pressed Bedford on other issues related to public safety, including whether he would scale back the FAA’s requirement that people seeking to become airline pilots log at least 1,500 of flight time — a rule that Republic requested an exemption from in 2022. None of them brought up his pilot’s credentials.
Conclusion
As controversy swirls around Bryan Bedford’s claimed commercial pilot license, the FAA nomination process continues. Stay informed as more details unfold.
