Who will lead the Department of Transportation?

Three members of Congress familiar with trucking issues have been touted as potential picks to run the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to The Washington Post and other media outlets, Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., Garret Graves, R-La., and Troy Nehls, R-Texas, are prospective candidates for the Cabinet position under President-elect Donald Trump.

All three are current members of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and all three have been involved in various trucking legislation.

Sam Graves

Sam Graves serves as the chairman of the House T&I Committee, which has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation. He served as the committee’s ranking member for four years before succeeding Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., as chairman in 2023.

Notable to trucking, Graves opposed efforts in 2021 that would have increased motor carriers’ minimum liability insurance from $750,000 to $2 million.

“It’s going to put some of these independent operators out of business, because the amount of money they’re going to have to put up for insurance,” Graves said. “It’s going to come down to one simple choice … You either choose those truck drivers who are trying to support their families, or you choose trial attorneys. That’s what it comes down to.”

Although the minimum insurance increase made it into the House version of the highway bill, it was not included in the Senate version and never became law.

Garret Graves

Garret Graves did not run for re-election, so he would be able to step into the Department of Transportation leadership position without affecting the Republican majority in the House.

Like Sam Graves, he also was a vocal opponent of the proposed minimum insurance increase in 2021.

In addition, Garret Graves introduced the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act in September 2023. The bill would attempt to streamline the Transportation Security Administration clearance process so that truck drivers and other transportation workers wouldn’t have to experience redundant background checks and fees.

The bill is supported by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the American Trucking Associations.

Troy Nehls

Nehls has been front and center of several trucking-related issues.

Most notably, he introduced the Trucker Bathroom Access Act, which would require shipper and receiver facilities to make their existing restrooms available to truck drivers who are delivering or picking up a load.

“Truckers are this nation’s backbone, and we owe them for the tireless contributions they continue to make to keep our country moving,” Nehls said when the bill was introduced.

OOIDA worked with Nehls to craft the bill. In addition, Nehls is a co-sponsor on some of the Association’s priority pieces of legislation including the DRIVE Act and the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. The DRIVE Act would prevent FMCSA from moving forward with a speed limiter mandate, and the latter would provide $755 million for truck parking.

Nehls also used a committee hearing in 2023 to call out the problems regarding automatic emergency braking systems.

Other candidates?

In addition to those three members of Congress, The Washington Post suggested Jeffrey Rosen, who previously has served as the DOT’s deputy secretary.

Craig Fuller, the CEO of FreightWaves, also has offered his services to be the next Department of Transportation leader.

Honored that the largest trucking group on Facebook would choose me to be their voice in the new administration.

I promise to represent the owner operator community and fight against the tyranny of big government over reach. https://t.co/J26f6NRqVp

— Craig Fuller 🛩🚛🚂⚓️ (@FreightAlley) November 14, 2024

Trump already has selected several members of his Cabinet. He is expected to name the transportation secretary in the coming weeks. LL