United States Secretary of Transportation

The post was created on October 15, 1966, by the Department of Transportation Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.[2] The department's mission is "to develop and coordinate policies that will provide an efficient and economical national transportation system, with due regard for need, the environment, and the national defense."[2]

The first secretary of transportation was Alan S. Boyd, nominated to the post by Democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson. Ronald Reagan's second secretary of transportation, Elizabeth Dole, was the first female holder, and Mary Peters was the second. Gerald Ford's nominee William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. was the first African American to serve as transportation secretary, and Federico Peña, serving under Bill Clinton, was the first Hispanic to hold the position, subsequently becoming the secretary of energy. Japanese-American Norman Mineta, who had previously been the secretary of commerce, is the longest-serving secretary, holding the post for over five and a half years,[2] and Andrew Card is the shortest-serving secretary, serving only eleven months. Neil Goldschmidt was the youngest secretary, taking office at age 39, while Norman Mineta was the oldest, retiring at age 74.[7] In April 2008, Mary Peters launched the official blog of the secretary of transportation called "The Fast Lane".[8] On January 23, 2009, the 16th secretary Ray LaHood took office, serving under the administration of Democrat Barack Obama; he had previously been a Republican Congressman from Illinois for fourteen years.[9]

Anthony Foxx was the 17th U.S. secretary of transportation from 2013 to 2017, when Barack Obama was the president. Elaine Chao, who served as the secretary of labor under President George W. Bush, was nominated by Donald Trump on November 29, 2016. On January 31, 2017, the Senate confirmed her appointment by a vote of 93–6. On January 7, 2021, Chao announced her resignation following the Capitol storming, effective January 11.[10] On January 11, 2021, acting Deputy Secretary of Transportation Steven G. Bradbury became acting Secretary of Transportation.

Parties

  Democratic (8)   Republican (11)

Status

  Denotes acting Secretary of Transportation

No.	Portrait	Secretary	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President serving under
1		Alan S. Boyd	Florida	January 16, 1967	January 20, 1969		Lyndon B. Johnson
2		John Volpe	Massachusetts	January 22, 1969	February 2, 1973		Richard Nixon
3		Claude Brinegar	California	February 2, 1973	February 1, 1975
							Gerald R. Ford
4		William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.	Pennsylvania	March 7, 1975	January 20, 1977
5		Brock Adams	Washington	January 23, 1977	July 20, 1979		Jimmy Carter
6		Neil Goldschmidt	Oregon	August 15, 1979	January 20, 1981
7		Drew Lewis	Pennsylvania	January 23, 1981	February 1, 1983		Ronald Reagan
8		Elizabeth Dole	Kansas	February 7, 1983	September 30, 1987
9		James H. Burnley IV	North Carolina	December 3, 1987	January 20, 1989
10		Samuel K. Skinner	Illinois	February 6, 1989	December 13, 1991		George H. W. Bush
11		Andrew Card	Massachusetts	February 24, 1992	January 20, 1993
12		Federico Peña	Colorado	January 21, 1993	February 14, 1997		Bill Clinton
13		Rodney E. Slater	Arkansas	February 14, 1997	January 20, 2001
–		Mortimer L. Downey Acting	Virginia	January 20, 2001	January 25, 2001		George W. Bush
14		Norman Mineta	California	January 25, 2001	August 7, 2006
–		Maria Cino Acting	New York	August 7, 2006	October 17, 2006
15		Mary E. Peters	Arizona	October 17, 2006	January 20, 2009
16		Ray LaHood	Illinois	January 23, 2009	July 2, 2013		Barack Obama
17		Anthony Foxx	North Carolina	July 2, 2013	January 20, 2017
–		Michael Huerta Acting	California	January 20, 2017	January 31, 2017		Donald Trump
18		Elaine Chao	Kentucky	January 31, 2017	January 11, 2021
–		Steven G. Bradbury Acting	Oregon	January 12, 2021	January 20, 2021
–		Lana Hurdle Acting	Virginia	January 20, 2021	February 3, 2021		Joe Biden
19		Pete Buttigieg	Indiana	February 3, 2021	Incumbent

The line of succession regarding who would act as Secretary of Transportation in the event of a vacancy or incapacitation is as follows:[11]

1. Deputy Secretary of Transportation
2. Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy
3. General Counsel
4. Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs
5. Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy
6. Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs
7. Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs
8. Assistant Secretary for Administration
9. Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration
10. Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
11. Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
12. Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration
13. Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration
14. Administrator of the Maritime Administration
15. Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
16. Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
17. Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration
18. Administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
19. Regional Administrator, Southern Region, Federal Aviation Administration
20. Director, Resource Center, Lakewood, Colorado, Federal Highway Administration
21. Regional Administrator, Northwest Mountain Region, Federal Aviation Administration

As of November 2022, there are eleven living former secretaries of transportation (with all secretaries that have served since 2006 still living), the oldest being Elizabeth H. Dole (served 1983–1987, born 1936). The most recent and most recently serving secretary of transportation to die was Norman Mineta (served 2001–2006, born 1931) on May 3, 2022.

General

• "Biographical Sketches of the Secretaries of Transportation". U.S. Department of Transportation. August 14, 2009. Archived from the original on March 16, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2010.

Specific

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Secretaries of Transportation of the United States.

• Official website
• The Department of Transportation Act