Washington — President Joe Biden has nominated Meera Joshi, acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, to lead the agency on a permanent basis.
According to a White House press release issued April 14, Joshi was appointed deputy administrator and senior official of FMCSA on Inauguration Day. The agency hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed leader since Raymond Martinez resigned in October 2019. Jim Mullen and Wiley Deck served as acting FMCSA administrators after Martinez’s tenure.
Previously, Joshi served as chair and CEO of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. “She spearheaded novel Vision Zero campaigns using data tools to keep high-risk drivers and unsafe vehicles off the road,” the release adds. “She also led landmark policy, including establishing robust open transportation data standards for app-based providers, enacting the nation’s first for-hire driver pay protection program and providing broad access to for-hire transportation for passengers who use wheelchairs.”
Before that, Joshi served as general manager in the New York Office of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants and was a visiting scholar at the New York University Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management.
In a statement released April 14, Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, congratulated Joshi on her nomination and added that the deputy administrator “has been communicating well with trucking industry stakeholders.”
The statement continues: “Our economic recovery and growth will depend on how challenges facing the industry are addressed. These issues – including training, workforce development, technology and strengthening interstate commerce – will need strong leadership by FMCSA. As our economy and communities recover from the pandemic, we look forward to working with her in her new role to help address these critical priorities without compromising safety.”
Biden names nominee for DOT assistant policy secretary
The release also announces Biden’s intention to nominate Christopher Coes for assistant secretary of transportation policy at the Department of Transportation – a role he currently fills on an acting basis.
Coes previously was vice president for land use and development at Smart Growth America – a nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure that urban development policies foster safe, equitable and sustainable community growth. One of his accomplishments was securing more than $20 billion in transit-oriented development and local infrastructure financing.
If confirmed, Coes would join Polly Trottenberg among DOT leadership. The Senate confirmed Trottenberg as deputy secretary with an 82-15 vote April 13.
