The U.S. Senate voted to approve President Donald Trump's pick, Bryan Bedford, as the FAA Administrator.
What Happened: The Senate voted 53-43 in favor of approving Bedford, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Bedford, who was the CEO of Republic Airways, stepped down last week after 25 years at the company following Trump's nomination, the report suggests. Bedford has been approved for a five-year term.
Why It Matters: The news comes as Bedford's nomination has been slammed by Democrats, with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying that the administration is prioritizing profits over passenger safety, as Bedford's commitment to upholding the 1,500-hour flight training rule has been put into question.
Bedford, meanwhile, has said that the U.S.'s Air Traffic Control system needs "significant investment" as the FAA has dealt with outages as well as staff shortages. He will oversee the Trump administration's $12.5 billion allocation to revamp the ATC tech.
Elsewhere, the agency has said that it is ramping up testing of Elon Musk's Starlink internet service at 41 facilities in the U.S. in a bid to bolster the aging system.
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