Donald Trump has nominated Elaine Chao for Secretary of Transportation, reports Politico. Chao, the daughter of a shipping magnate and wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitche McConnell, served as Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush.
Mobility Lab hopes the U.S. DOT continues down the impressive road it has followed of the past two secretaries, Ray LaHood and Anthony Foxx. These two have brought vibrancy to cities and towns across the nation, with an abundance of biking, walking, and transit advances as well as inspiring preparations for a future of autonomous vehicles and smart cities.
As Angie Schmitt of Streetsblog notes: “The hallmarks of the agency under Obama — like the $500 million or so spent annually via the TIGER grant program — are small compared to the tens of billions of dollars in federal transportation funding distributed by formula to state DOTs each year. The primary threat to policies that improve transit, biking, and walking will come from the GOP House and Senate.”
We hope the U.S. DOT will continue to serve as an inspiration to regions throughout the country that continue to try making their transportation networks better for all people, no matter how they get from place to place.