DOT Nominee to Be Named Today
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx is the selection to replace Ray LaHood.
Numerous news outlets, including The Washington Post and the Charlotte Observer, reported that President Obama will nominate Charlotte, N.C.'s mayor, Anthony Foxx, to be the new secretary of transportation. Foxx, 41, hosted 2012's Democratic National Convention. He's a lawyer and already had announced he would leave office at the end of 2013 to spend more time with his family.
LaHood had announced he would not serve as transportation during Obama's second term but would stay on until a replacement secretary is confirmed.
Foxx's ability to integrate local, state, and federal resources to meet transportation challenges is a reason for his selection, the Observer reported. However, its report also said a streetcar project he is launching with a $25 million federal grant "is in limbo. The mayor has been unable to convince City Council members to approve expanding the 1.5-mile line currently under construction, and the streetcar has been the cause of a nearly year-long impasse over the city passing a nearly $1 billion capital budget."