July 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Wednesday voted 53 to

43 to approve long-time Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford to

head the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bedford, the former head of the regional air carrier that

operates nearly 1,000 daily flights for major airlines, stepped

down last week after more than 25 years leading the airline and

was nominated by President Donald Trump.

Approved for a five-year term, Bedford will oversee $12.5

billion in funding to remake the aging U.S. air traffic control

system passed by Congress last week.

Bedford, who has been

critical of the FAA's culture and leadership,

has also pledged to maintain tough oversight of Boeing ( BA )

, which came under harsh criticism from the National

Transportation Safety Board last month for a mid-air emergency

involving a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 missing four

key bolts.

Democrats have criticized Bedford for refusing to commit to

upholding the 1,500-hour training rule for co-pilots.

Bedford's predecessor, Mike Whitaker, who was nominated

by then President Joe Biden and

confirmed unanimously in October 2023

, opted to step down in January when Trump took office.

The Trump administration plans to completely overhaul the

FAA's air traffic control system after a mid-air collision on

January 29 between a U.S. Army helicopter and an American

Airlines ( AAL ) jet near Washington Reagan National Airport.

All 67 people aboard the aircraft died.

The FAA last month said it was shrinking the area around

Reagan Washington National Airport where helicopters are allowed

to operate.

In March, the FAA imposed permanent restrictions on

non-essential helicopter operations around Reagan to eliminate

helicopter and passenger jet mixed traffic, including

permanently closing one key route after the NTSB made two urgent

safety recommendations following the January 29 mid-air

collision.

The FAA's air traffic control network's woes have been years

in the making, but a rush of high-profile mishaps, near-misses

and the catastrophic crash in January spiked public alarm and

prompted new calls for action.

Bedford will need to decide when to lift the production

cap of 38 planes per month on Boeing's ( BA ) 737 MAX imposed after the

January 2024 mid-air emergency.

The FAA is not currently reconsidering its policy of

inspecting all Boeing 737 MAXs and 787 Dreamliners before

issuing airworthiness certificates for individual planes, rather

than delegating those tasks to Boeing ( BA ).