United States Secretary of Transportation

{{short description|Head of the United States Department of Transportation}} {{Redirect|Secretary of Transportation|the position of the same name in the Cabinet of the Philippines|Secretary of Transportation (Philippines)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox official post | post = United States Secretary | body = Transportation | flag = Flag of the United States Secretary of Transportation.svg | flagborder = yes | flagsize = 130 | flagcaption = Flag of the secretary | insignia = United States Department of Transportation seal.svg | insigniasize = 120 | insigniacaption = Seal of the Department of Transportation | image = Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy Official Portrait.jpg | incumbent = Sean Duffy | acting = no | incumbentsince = January 28, 2025 | department = United States Department of Transportation | style = Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal) | member_of = Cabinet of the United States | reports_to = President of the United States | seat = Washington, D.C. | appointer = The president | appointer_qualified = with advice and consent of the Senate | termlength = No fixed term | constituting_instrument = {{UnitedStatesCode|49|102}} | formation = {{start date and age|1966|10|15|p=1|br=1}} | first = Alan Stephenson Boyd | succession = Fourteenth<ref name=code>{{USC2|3|19|Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act}}.</ref> | deputy = Deputy Secretary | salary = Executive Schedule, Level I | website = {{url|https://www.transportation.gov/|transportation.gov}} }} The '''United States secretary of transportation''' is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secretary is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States, and is fourteenth in the presidential line of succession.<ref name=code/>

The secretary of transportation oversees the U.S. Department of Transportation, which has over 55,000 employees and thirteen agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.<ref name="DOTHist" /> As of January 2021, the secretary receives an annual salary of $221,400.<ref name="Salary">{{cite web|url= https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2021/EX.pdf|title=Salary Table No. 2021-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)}}</ref><ref>{{usc2|5|5312|Positions at level I}}.</ref>

Sean Duffy has served as the 20th secretary of transportation since January 28, 2025. He was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve this position, and was confirmed by the Senate in a 77-22 vote.

==History== The post was created on October 15, 1966, by the Department of Transportation Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.<ref name="DOTHist">{{cite web |url=http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/history.htm |title=The United States Department of Transportation: A Brief History |last=Grinder, R. Dale |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=January 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040717162622/http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/history.htm |archive-date=July 17, 2004}}</ref> 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."<ref name="DOTHist" />

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,<ref name="DOTHist" /> and Andrew Card is the shortest-serving secretary, serving only eleven months. Pete Buttigieg is the youngest secretary, taking office at 39 years 15 days old, overtaking Neil Goldschmidt as the youngest secretary, taking office at 39 years 3 months old,<ref name=CNBC>{{cite web|last1=Josephs|first1=Leslie|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/pete-buttigieg-confirmed-by-senate-as-biden-transportation-secretary.html|title=Senate confirms Pete Buttigieg as Transportation secretary|publisher=CNBC |accessdate=26 January 2023|date=2 February 2021}}</ref> while Norman Mineta was the oldest, retiring at age 74.<ref name="DOTBio">{{cite web|url=http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/bios.htm |title=Biographical Sketches of the Secretaries of Transportation |date=August 14, 2009 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316065145/http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/bios.htm |archive-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref>  Buttigieg is also the first openly gay man to hold the position, as well as being the first openly gay Cabinet secretary, and the first to seek a full senate confirmation.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|last2=Kaplan|first2=Thomas|date=December 16, 2020|title=Buttigieg Recalls Discrimination Against Gay People, as Biden Celebrates Cabinet's Diversity|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/us/politics/buttigieg-biden-cabinet.html|access-date=January 24, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In April 2008, Mary Peters launched the official blog of the secretary of transportation called ''The Fast Lane''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/chronology.htm |title=A Chronology of Dates Significant in the Background, History and Development of the Department of Transportation |date=August 14, 2009 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215013503/http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/chronology.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2008 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dot.gov/bios/lahood.htm|title=Ray LaHood—Secretary of Transportation|date=July 22, 2009|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation|access-date=January 3, 2010|archive-date=September 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928155617/http://www.dot.gov/bios/lahood.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Anthony Foxx was the 17th U.S. secretary of transportation from 2013 to 2017, when Barack Obama was 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 January 6 United States Capitol attack, effective January 11.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/politics/elaine-chao-cabinet-resignation-trump/index.html |title=Second Cabinet member announces resignation over Trump's response to riot |author-first1=Kaitlan|author-last1=Collins|author-first2=Jeremy|author-last2=Diamond|author-first3=Kevin|author-last3=Liptak|author-first4=Kate|author-last4=Bennett|date=8 January 2021|publisher=CNN}}</ref> On January 11, 2021, acting deputy secretary of transportation Steven G. Bradbury became acting secretary of transportation. Pete Buttigieg served as the 19th secretary of transportation during the presidency of Joe Biden.

==List of secretaries of transportation== ; Parties {{legend2|{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|Democratic|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} (8) {{legend2|{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|Republican|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} (12)

;Status {{legend2|#e6e6aa|Denotes acting secretary of transportation|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="clear:left; text-align:center;" |- !{{abbr|No.|Number}} !class=unsortable |Portrait !Secretary !State of residence !Took office !Left office !colspan=2 |President |- !style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|1}} |data-sort-value="Boyd, Alan" |100px|alt=Black-and-white photo of a balding man in a suit and striped tie |{{sortname|Alan S.|Boyd}} |Florida |{{dts|1967|1|16}} |{{dts|1969|1|20}} |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |data-sort-value="Johnson, Lyndon" |{{sortname|Lyndon B.|Johnson}} (1963–1969) |- !style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|2}} |data-sort-value="Volpe, John" |100px|alt=Black-and-white photo of man in a suit and black tie |{{sortname|John|Volpe}} |Massachusetts |{{dts|1969|1|22}} |{{dts|1973|2|2}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Nixon, Richard" |{{sortname|Richard|Nixon}} (1969–1974) |- |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|3}} |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Brinegar, Claude" |100px|alt=Color photo of a bald man wearing glasses and a suit with a striped tie |rowspan=2 |{{sortname|Claude|Brinegar}} |rowspan=2 |California |rowspan=2 |{{dts|1973|2|2}} |rowspan=2 |{{dts|1975|2|1}} |- |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Ford, Gerald" |{{sortname|Gerald|Ford}} (1974–1977) |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|4}} |data-sort-value="Coleman, Bill" |100px|alt=Black-and-white photo of an African American man in a suit wearing glasses looking to his left |{{sortname|William Thaddeus|Coleman Jr.}} |Pennsylvania |{{dts|1975|3|7}} |{{dts|1977|1|20}} |- |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|5}} |data-sort-value="Adams, Brockman" |100px|alt=Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit smiling |{{sortname|Brock|Adams}} |Washington |{{dts|1977|1|23}} |{{dts|1979|7|20}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Carter, Jimmy" |{{sortname|Jimmy|Carter}} (1977–1981) |- |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|6}} |data-sort-value="Goldschmidt, Neil" |100px|alt=Black-and-white photo of a man with a wide smile and short curly hair wearing a light-colored suit |{{sortname|Neil|Goldschmidt}} |Oregon |{{dts|1979|9|24}} |{{dts|1981|1|20}} |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|7}} |data-sort-value="Lewis, Andrew" |100px|alt=Black-and-white photo of a man wearing a suit sitting at a desk with his hands folded on it and the DOT logo and US flag behind him |{{sortname|Drew|Lewis}} |Pennsylvania |{{dts|1981|1|23}} |{{dts|1983|2|1}} |rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=3 data-sort-value="Reagan, Ronald" |{{sortname|Ronald|Reagan}} (1981–1989) |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|8}} |data-sort-value="Dole, Elizabeth" |100px|alt=Photo of a smiling woman wearing earrings |{{sortname|Elizabeth|Dole}} |Kansas |{{dts|1983|2|7}} |{{dts|1987|9|30}} |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|9}} |data-sort-value="Burnley, James" |100px|alt=Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit and combed-over hair with the US flag behind him |{{sortname|James H.|Burnley IV}} |North Carolina |{{dts|1987|12|3}} |{{dts|1989|1|20}} |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|10}} |data-sort-value="Skinner, Samuel" |100px|alt=Smiling man with thinning hair wearing a suit and a blue tie with the US flag behind him |{{sortname|Samuel K.|Skinner}} |Illinois |{{dts|1989|2|6}} |{{dts|1991|12|13}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Bush, George H. W." |{{sortname|George H. W.|Bush}} (1989–1993) |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|11}} |data-sort-value="Card, Andy" |100px|alt=Smiling man wearing a suit and a red tie |{{sortname|Andrew|Card}} |Massachusetts |{{dts|1992|2|24}} |{{dts|1993|1|20}} |- |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|12}} |data-sort-value="Peña, Federico Fabian" |100px|alt=Hispanic man with large glasses and black hair with the US flag behind him |{{sortname|Federico|Peña}} |Colorado |{{dts|1993|1|21}} |{{dts|1997|2|14}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Clinton, Bill" |{{sortname|Bill|Clinton}} (1993–2001) |- |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|13}} |data-sort-value="Slater, Rodney" |100px|alt=African American man with short hair and a short mustache |{{sortname|Rodney E.|Slater}} |Arkansas |{{dts|1997|2|14|}} |{{dts|2001|1|20}} |- !style="background:#E6E6AA;" | {{color|black|–}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA data-sort-value="Downey, Mortimer" |100px|alt=Acting United States Secretary of Transportation |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{sortname|Mortimer L.|Downey III}} {{small|Acting}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |Virginia |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2001|1|20}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2001|1|25}} |rowspan=4 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=4 data-sort-value="Bush, George W." |{{sortname|George W.|Bush}} (2001–2009) |- |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|14}} |data-sort-value="Mineta, Norm" |100px|alt=Older Japanese American man with glasses wearing a suit with a red tie with the US flag behind him |{{sortname|Norman|Mineta}} |California |{{dts|2001|1|25}} |{{dts|2006|8|7}} |- !style="background:#E6E6AA;" | {{color|black|–}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA data-sort-value="Cino, Maria" |100px|alt=Acting United States Secretary of Transportation |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{sortname|Maria|Cino}} {{small|Acting}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |New York |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2006|8|7}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2006|10|17}} |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|15}} |data-sort-value="Peters, Mary" |100px|alt=Woman with long brown hair with the US flag behind her |{{sortname|Mary E.|Peters}} |Arizona |{{dts|2006|10|17}} |{{dts|2009|1|20}} |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|16}} |data-sort-value="LaHood, Ray" |100px |{{sortname|Ray|LaHood}} |Illinois |{{dts|2009|1|23}} |{{dts|2013|7|2}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Obama, Barack" |{{sortname|Barack|Obama}} (2009–2017) |- |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|17}} |data-sort-value="Foxx, Anthony" |100px|alt=Mayor Anthony Foxx, Charlotte NC |{{sortname|Anthony|Foxx}} |North Carolina |{{dts|2013|7|2}} |{{dts|2017|1|20}} |- !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA data-sort-value="Huerta, Michael|100px |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{sortname|Michael|Huerta}} {{small|Acting}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |California |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2017|1|20}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2017|1|31}} |rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=3 data-sort-value="Trump, Donald" |{{sortname|Donald|Trump}} (2017–2021) |- |style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|18}} |data-sort-value="Chao, Elaine" |100px |{{sortname|Elaine|Chao}} |Kentucky |{{dts|2017|1|31}} |{{dts|2021|1|11}} |- !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA data-sort-value="Bradbury, Steven" |100px |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{sortname|Steven G.|Bradbury}} {{small|Acting}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |Oregon |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2021|1|12}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2021|1|20}} |- !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA data-sort-value="Hurdle, Lana" |100px |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{sortname|Lana|Hurdle}} {{small|Acting}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |Virginia |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2021|1|20}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2021|2|3}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=2 data-sort-value="Biden, Joe" |{{sortname|Joe|Biden}} (2021–2025) |- |style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|19}} |data-sort-value="Buttigieg, Pete" |100px |{{sortname|Pete|Buttigieg}} |Indiana{{efn|In July 2022, Buttigieg established his permanent residence in Traverse City, Michigan.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |last=Hermani |first=Jordyn |date=July 8, 2022 |title=Buttigieg moves to Michigan, changes voter registration |url=https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/07/buttigieg-moves-to-michigan-changes-voter-registration.html |access-date=July 20, 2022 |website=MLive}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Weigel |first=David |last2=Everett |first2=Burgess |date=6 February 2025 |title=High hopes among Democrats as Buttigieg eyes a Senate bid |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/02/06/2025/high-hopes-among-democrats-as-buttigieg-eyes-a-senate-bid |access-date=7 February 2025 |website=Semafor}}</ref>}} |{{dts|2021|2|3}} |{{dts|2025|1|20}} |- !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |100px |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{sortname|Judith|Kaleta}} {{small|Acting}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |Illinois |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2025|1|20}} |bgcolor=#E6E6AA |{{dts|2025|1|28}} |rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" | |rowspan=3 data-sort-value="Trump, Donald" |{{sortname|Donald|Trump}} (2025–present) |- !style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|20}} |data-sort-value="Duffy, Sean" |100px |Sean Duffy |Wisconsin |{{dts|2025|1|28}} |present |}

==Line of succession == The line of succession regarding who would act as Secretary of Transportation in the event of a vacancy or incapacitation is as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayEO.cfm?id=EO_13485_|title=Executive Order 13485: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Transportation|last=Obama, Barack|date=January 14, 2009|publisher=NASA Online Directives Information System|access-date=January 2, 2010}}</ref>

#Deputy Secretary of Transportation #Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy #General Counsel #Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs #Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy #Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs #Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs #Assistant Secretary for Administration #Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration #Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration #Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration #Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration #Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration #Administrator of the Maritime Administration #Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration #Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration #Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration #Administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation #Regional Administrator, Southern Region, Federal Aviation Administration #Director, Resource Center, Lakewood, Colorado, Federal Highway Administration #Regional Administrator, Northwest Mountain Region, Federal Aviation Administration

== Notes == <references group="lower-alpha" /> ==References==

=== General === *{{cite web|url=http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/bios.htm |title=Biographical Sketches of the Secretaries of Transportation |date=August 14, 2009 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=January 2, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316065145/http://dotlibrary.dot.gov/Historian/bios.htm |archive-date=March 16, 2011 }}

=== Specific === {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Secretaries of Transportation of the United States}} *{{Official website}} *[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-80/pdf/STATUTE-80-Pg931.pdf The Department of Transportation Act]

{{s-start}} {{s-prec|usa}} {{s-bef | before = Scott Turner | as = Secretary of Housing and Urban Development }} {{s-ttl | title = Order of precedence of the United States ''{{small|as Secretary of Transportation}}'' | years = }} {{s-aft | after = Chris Wright | as = Secretary of Energy }} |- {{s-prec|us-pres}} {{s-bef | before = Secretary of Housing and Urban Development {{small|Scott Turner}} }} {{s-ttl | title = 14th in line }} {{s-aft | after = Secretary of Energy {{small|Chris Wright}} }} {{s-end}}

{{navboxes |list = {{USSecTrans}} {{DOT agencies}} {{US Cabinet leaders}} {{US presidential line of succession}} }} {{featured list}}

Transportation Transportation Category:Secretaries of transportation of the United States United States Secretary Category:United States Department of Transportation officials Category:American organizations established in 1966