Mr. Bedford rankled Democrats last month when he would not commit to holding all commercial pilots to a federal requirement to complete 1,500 hours of training, a standard he had criticized as the chief of Republic Airways, a regional airline.

Republic Airways, which operates flights for major airline brands, filed a petition in April seeking to put its pilot school on equal footing with military aviation training. Former military pilots can earn a limited qualification to fly airliners with 750 hours of experience, compared to the 1,500 hours typically required of civilians.

This mofo is going to rain bodies and fire down on everyone .