Senate Confirms Top DOT Nominees
The Senate on July 24 easily confirmed the nominations of two Transportation Department officials for senior positions.
The chamber gave voice vote approval to the nominations of Victor Mendez to become the department’s deputy secretary, and Peter Rogoff’s for the undersecretary of transportation for policy post.
Mendez and Rogoff had been in those posts in an acting capacity. President Obama tapped them to fill those respective roles permanently in May.
Mendez had been in the deputy secretary role since December, taking over for John Porcari, who left DOT for a position at the global management firm Parsons Brinckerhoff. He was confirmed to be the chief of the Federal Highway Administration in 2009. Before coming to Washington, Mendez was the director of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.
Rogoff, the top officer at the Federal Transit Administration, took over for Polly Trottenberg after she left the agency to manage New York City’s transportation unit. A former Senate appropriations staffer, Rogoff was confirmed for the FTA job in 2009.
