Lead Story

Obama taps Rebublican for DOT Secretary

Ray LaHood, a seven-term Illinois Congressman, has been tapped to be the next Transportation Secretary by President-elect Obama - the second Republican to be named to the presidential cabinet.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, was the first Republican named by the president-elect. Secretary Gates will remain in his position for at least the next year.

LaHood, an Arab-American, has served the Illinois district that includes counties once represented by Abraham Lincoln. He has most recently been a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

LaHood will likely oversee one of the largest major infrastructure public works initiatives in U.S. history under the Obama Administration.

"As a nation, we need to continue to be the world leader in infrastructure development,” LaHood said at a press conference announcing his nomination.

James Oberstar, the chairman of the highly influential House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, commended the naming of LaHood, and outlined some of the DOT’s myriad tasks ahead.

“Intermodalism has not happened at the DOT in a long time, and we need to start it and sustain it in order for this agency to work well…there has to be deliverability, and we have to cut through the time it takes issue permits and rulemakings, and deliver services to the public,” said Oberstar.

With what LaHood referred to as a “crumbling infrastructure,” the bill for transport infrastructure improvements will be a big one, perhaps mirroring major U.S. trade partner, China, which has announced a half-trillion-dollar infrastructure package.

China’s infrastructure stimulus plan includes a major investment in rail, and the early reaction to LaHood from that sector in the U.S. has been positive.

“President-elect Obama has made an excellent selection in choosing Congressman Ray LaHood to be the next Secretary of Transportation,” said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, in a statement. “The nation faces enormous transportation challenges. Capacity is an issue across all modes of transportation, as is the need to maintain and improve existing infrastructure. Accomplishing all this while simultaneously reducing transportation's carbon footprint will require a bi-partisan approach,” he said.

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