LaHood ‘Sticking Around’ as Secretary ‘for a While’
This story appears in the Jan. 28 print edition of Transport Topics.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week he would “be sticking around for a while” in President Obama’s Cabinet as the administration’s top transportation official.
Update (Jan. 29) – Secretary LaHood says he will soon depart DOT.
LaHood made the comment to a Bloomberg News reporter at a Jan. 21 Inaugural party for the president that was held by Illinois politicians in Washington. LaHood is formerly a Republican congressman from Illinois.
Another Bloomberg News reporter wrote about the conversation in a story the news service published on Jan. 22.
LaHood spokesman Justin Nisly downplayed the comment, telling TT: “There’s nothing new to report at this time beyond what the secretary has said publicly.”
The Department of Transportation slot is the only Cabinet position that remained up in the air as Obama’s second term officially began last week. An announcement has been made regarding the status of all other Cabinet-level positions, although in several cases a replacement for a departing secretary has yet to be announced.
In 2011, LaHood said he was going to step down if Obama was re-elected but has since shifted his position.
Also last week, Anne Ferro, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, suggested she also would remain on the job.
“I am honored to serve as the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under President Obama and would be honored to continue serving in this role,” Ferro said in a statement to TT on Jan. 23.
Before taking over at FMCSA in 2009, Ferro was president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association. She also is a former head of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.
During Inauguration Day ceremonies, LaHood was seen for an extended period in the front row of the parade reviewing stand in front of the White House with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Prior to joining the Obama Cabinet in 2009, LaHood represented Peoria, Ill., in Congress for 14 years.
Reporters pressed LaHood about his future after his Jan. 16 luncheon speech at the annual Transportation Research Board conference in Washington, D.C.
“I don’t have anything to report on that,” he said in answer to reporters’ questions about if and when he would leave his current post.
In October 2011, LaHood told TT he did not plan to stay on in a second Obama administration, and he wanted to move into a private-sector job.
However, the secretary backtracked, telling reporters earlier last year that his Cabinet post was the best job he had ever had in public service and that, after the election, he would talk to the president about the future.
