Trump Taps Lyft Executive for DOT Policy Post
The general manager of a ride-sharing firm was tapped by President Donald Trump to oversee policy at the Department of Transportation, the White House announced this week.
Derek Kan of California-based Lyft Inc. would become undersecretary of transportation for policy if confirmed and would oversee executive and congressional directives for Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The Senate’s committee of jurisdiction has yet to announce a hearing to consider Kan’s nomination.
Kan, a member of Amtrak’s board of directors alongside Chao, was a management consultant at Bain & Co. Prior to that, he was a policy adviser to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the chief economist for the Senate Republican Policy Committee. McConnell is married to Chao.
Kan earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Founded in 2012, Lyft specializes in connecting commuters unable or unwilling to access taxis with automotive transportation through smartphone allocations. According to several reports, the company’s estimated valuation is about $7 billion.
