Senate Confirms Nominee for DOT’s Top Policy Post
The U.S. Department of Transportation will be staffed with a new policy leader after the Senate on Nov. 13 easily confirmed Derek Kan, formerly a general manager for Lyft.
By a vote of 90 to 7, Kan’s nomination was approved in the upper chamber. He now becomes undersecretary of transportation for policy, the third-highest post at the department.
Kan
At his confirmation hearing in June, Kan told senators on the Commerce Committee he would work to enhance DOT’s role in autonomous vehicles as well as pursue the modernization of multimodal safety technology. Achieving a fair balance of federal resources for urban and rural transportation projects also would be among his priorities.
“Together, we can address these complex policy questions, rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, ensure the safety and security of our transportation system and usher in new technologies,” he said.
Before joining Lyft, Kan had been a management consultant at Bain & Co. When he was on Capitol Hill, he served as policy adviser to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and was chief economist for the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
He earned degrees from the University of Southern California, the London School of Economics and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
