The United States Department of Transportation is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation,who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.
Elaine Lan Chao is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as United States secretary of labor in the administration of George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009 and as United States secretary of transportation in the administration of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party,Chao was the first Asian American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. She resigned as transportation secretary after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) is a unit of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). It was created in 2005 to advance transportation science,technology,and analysis,as well as improve the coordination of transportation research within the department and throughout the transportation community.
The Red Line is a proposed light rail line for Baltimore,Maryland. The original project was granted federal approval to enter the preliminary engineering phase and the Maryland Transit Administration had spent roughly $300 million in planning,design and land acquisition,until Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared his intent to not provide state funds for the project and shift state funding to roads in suburban areas. The original Red Line had been projected to cost roughly $1.6 billion,$900 million of which would have been guaranteed federal funding. Its construction had been estimated to begin in late 2015–early 2016,subject to funding,with a completion date set for late 2021–early 2022.
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is an organization comprising five business units and one Authority:
Robert L. Flanagan was the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation from 2003 until 2007,under the administration of Governor Robert Ehrlich. Prior and subsequent to this position,Flanagan served in the Maryland House of Delegates. He was first elected to office in 1987 and served with fellow Republican,Robert Kittleman,until 2002,when the districts were redrawn and he would move to District 14B.
Raymond P. Martinez was a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Transportation and the former Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. From 2010 to 2018,Martinez served as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Chair and Chief Administrator in the Cabinet of Governor Chris Christie. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Protocol for the United States Department of State and as Commissioner of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles in the Cabinet of Governor George Pataki.
The Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism is an office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security,Democracy,and Human Rights at the United States Department of State. The office "advances U.S. foreign policy on antisemitism" by developing and implementing policies and projects to support efforts to combat antisemitism.
John E. Jamian is an American businessman,former U.S. government official,and Michigan State Legislator. He served as deputy and later acting maritime administrator,the head of the U.S. Maritime Administration,an agency of the United States Department of Transportation,from 2003 until 2006. He was confirmed as deputy maritime administrator by the Senate on May 7,2003 and became acting maritime administrator February 12,2005. Prior to his service at the Maritime Administration,Jamian was elected to three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1991 to 1996. From 1997 to 2001 he served as executive director of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority and from 2001 until his appointment as deputy director in 2003 as the executive director the Armenian Assembly of America. Between 2011 and 2015,Jamian resumed his role as executive director at the Port of Detroit. Since returning to private life in 2015,he has held the position of Chief Operations Officer for Troy,Michigan based AmeriCare Medical Inc. and continues to serve as the Armenian Assembly of America's State of Michigan Director.
Anthony Renard Foxx is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party,Foxx had previously served as Mayor of Charlotte,North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. First elected to the Charlotte City Council in 2005,his 2009 mayoral victory made him the youngest person to serve as Charlotte's mayor,as well as the second African American to hold the role.
Peter H. Appel was the administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). From 2009 to 2011 Appel was the Obama administration point person on transportation technology issues and research. He left RITA in late 2011 for the private sector to work on emerging technologies in the transportation industry.
Stephen R. Lyons is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who last served as the 13th commander of the United States Transportation Command from August 2018 to October 2021. He previously served as the commanding general of United States Army Combined Arms Support Command/Sustainment Center of Excellence as well as the senior mission commander for Fort Lee,Virginia,from 2014 to 2015.
Amos J. Hochstein is an American businessman,diplomat,and former lobbyist. He is a top national and economic security official in the Biden administration. Hochstein has worked in the U.S. Congress,has testified before congressional panels and has served in the Barack Obama administration under Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in 2011 and as Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs in 2013. In 2015,President Barack Obama nominated Hochstein to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources but the Senate did not act on the nomination.
Joel Szabat is a former American government official and military officer serving on the Amtrak Board of Directors since 2024. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs.
A presidential task force or White House task force is a board of advisors appointed by the president of the United States whose main purpose is to enact policies in relation to responding to either national emergencies,crises,or general policy initiatives. Presidential task force members are part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States who don't require United States Senate confirmation and can be dismissed at the discretion of the president. This is granted by the Constitution of the United States under Article Two,Section Two,Clause One,stating,"require the Opinion,in writing,of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments,upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices."
Carlos Alberto Monje Jr. is an American government official and senior advisor to Secretary Pete Buttigieg. He served as the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy within the Biden administration from July 2021 to April 2024.
