WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – Three Democratic U.S. senators asked a federal watchdog to probe if the head of the Federal Aviation Administration violated his ethics agreement by delaying a stock divestiture after his departure as CEO of Republic Airways.
Senators Maria Cantwell, Tammy Duckworth and Ed Markey on Thursday asked if FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford misled Congress in explaining why he had failed to fully divest his significant equity stake in Republic by October 7, the date in his ethics agreement.
The senators argued “Beford intentionally held on to his shares until the airline completed a lucrative merger, likely significantly boosting the value of his holdings.”
Bedford completed his divestiture in February. The FAA said it would respond directly to the senators. At the time of his confirmation, Bedford reported holding stock in Republic worth between $6 million and $30 million. On November 25, Republic completed a merger with Mesa Air Group.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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