Obama Names Nominees for Two DOT Agencies

President Obama named two nominees to lead agencies within the Department of Transportation, the White House said.

Victor Mendez, former director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, will be nominated administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.

In addition to leading Arizona’s DOT under then-governor Janet Napolitano, Mendez has served as president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

Peter Appel will be nominated as administrator of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, the White House said. Appel is a principal with A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm.

In his 20 years in transportation, Appel has served as the special assistant to the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and as assistant director for pricing and yield management at Amtrak, the White House said.

No one has yet been named to fill the post of administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the main trucking regulatory agency.