Senators ask US to disclose if FAA administrator sold stake in airline

WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Three Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday asked the Transportation Department if the head of the Federal Aviation Administration has sold his shares in Republic Airways and whether he will be forced to give up any gains for not selling the stake before a required divestment date.

In December, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he had not divested his shares in Republic but he would continue to recuse himself from issues that could impact the airline's finances as he works to sell his holdings. Senator Maria Cantwell said Bedford, who previously served as CEO of Republic, had been in violation of his ethics agreement after he had not completed the sale of the shares despite earlier agreeing to divest his holdings by Oct. 7.

Cantwell, joined by Senators Tammy Duckworth and Ed Markey in a letter seen by Reuters, asked DOT "to initiate appropriate disciplinary or corrective actions to address Mr. Bedford’s noncompliance.... A lack of accountability in this case would send the message that senior DOT officials can disregard their ethical commitments without consequence."