Bryan Bedford
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration
Bryan Keith Bedford was born in October 1961 in Florida. He earned an undergraduate degree from Florida State University.
Bedford served as a financial controller for a commuter airline, and later became the chief financial officer for a Fixed Base Operator (FBO). He also functioned as a principal of a regional airline service. He became president and CEO of other regional airlines based in the Midwest.
President Donald Trump nominated Bedford as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in March 2025. He was confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office in July.
Bedford is married to Maria Richelle La Riche. Bedford holds a multi-engine, instrument-rated private pilot license. He is Catholic.
In the News…
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that a procedure has been changed and an antenna relocated after Marine One carrying President Donald Trump experienced a “loss of separation” incident in early August. Missed communication from the Marine One crew to Reagan National Airport air traffic control contributed to the passenger jet coming to close to the military helicopter. Administrator Bedford stated that the communication issue had been resolved.
Congress awarded the FAA $12.5 billion in 2025 to replace air traffic control telecom and radar infrastructure. Administrator Bedford has requested additional funding as his agency is “already starting to delay phase two and phase three because of lack of funding… If we don’t get funding for modernizing the data architecture and modernizing the operating platform, then we will have failed to deliver modernization.”
The FAA will launch a new SMART system in testing mode in September that uses predictive analytics for flight management. The agency will work with several airlines “to start testing the predictive analytics to see if they actually do what we believe they can do.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Administrator Bedford today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Bryan Bedford, Administrator
Federal Aviation Administration
800 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20591
