The government agency responsible for policing potential conflicts of interest told senators this week that Bryan Bedford, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, had not complied with an agreement to divest from the airline he previously ran.
In a letter to Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and the chairman of the Senate transportation committee, the Office of Government Ethics said Mr. Bedford had “failed to timely comply with certain terms of the ethics agreement he signed” while the Senate was weighing his nomination. The letter was released publicly on Tuesday night by Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the panel’s top Democrat.
Ms. Cantwell cited the ethics office’s report in a separate letter to Mr. Bedford, demanding “a full accounting” of why he failed to divest all of his equity in Republic Airways, a regional airline where he served as chairman and chief executive, within the 90 days required under his ethics agreement. The deadline had been Oct. 7, according to the ethics office.
“Based on this letter, it appears you continue to retain significant equity in this conflicting asset months past the deadline set to fully divest from Republic, which constitutes a clear violation of your ethics agreement,” she wrote. She gave him until Dec. 16 to respond to a list of questions demanding a full accounting of what shares he had divested, a date when his divestitures would be complete and a list of matters concerning Republic that he had recused himself from since taking office.
When reached for comment, a spokesman for the F.A.A. said that Mr. Bedford would be replying only to Ms. Cantwell. A spokeswoman for Mr. Cruz declined to comment.
According to Mr. Bedford’s ethics agreement, he had holdings in a number of aviation and technology companies before becoming administrator of the F.A.A., where he is overseeing an effort to overhaul and upgrade the nation’s aging air traffic control system. On the document, Mr. Bedford pledged to divest the holdings he listed “as soon as practicable but not later than 90 days after my confirmation.”
But according to the Office of Government Ethics, after his confirmation, he tried to amend that agreement, seeking more time to comply. Mr. Bedford held stock in the airline worth $6 million to $30 million at the time he filed financial disclosure forms after being nominated, Ms. Cantwell’s letter stated. The ethics office did not grant the extension.
Late last month, Republic Airways announced that it had completed a merger with Mesa Air Group, another regional carrier. As part of that merger, Republic became a publicly traded company. In her letter to Mr. Bedford, Ms. Cantwell suggested that the value of the Republic stock he held may have grown because of the merger, though he was required to shed those shares before the merger had closed.
The ethics office’s letter stated that Transportation Department officials informed them Mr. Bedford requested stock certificates on Dec. 1 to facilitate his divestment. Representatives for the Transportation Department, which oversees the F.A.A., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Karoun Demirjian is a breaking news reporter for The Times.
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