Congress

Trump’s DOT transition team adds more former agency staffers

Published

12 hours ago

January 9, 2025

The landing team for the Transportation Department has seen some reshuffling in recent weeks, adding another batch of former transportation officials and experts, according to two transportation industry and transition officials with knowledge of the moves.

The landing team now includes:

— Loren Smith, who currently works at Skyline Policy Risk Group, a public policy research and advisory group, according to his LinkedIn page. Smith was formerly a DOT deputy assistant secretary for policy.

— Barry Plans, a former special assistant at DOT under the first Trump administration who also worked on the Trump campaign.

— Lori Urban, also a former special adviserunder the first Trump administration on intergovernmental affairs for DOT. According to one transition team official granted anonymity to discuss current plans, Urban, a travel industry expert, is conducting outreach meetings with transportation industry stakeholders.

— Jim Ray, a former senior adviser to the DOT secretary during the first Trump administration. Ray is a corporate president at the HNTB Corporation, an infrastructure advisory firm, according to his LinkedIn. He was previously the chief counsel and later the deputy administrator at the Federal Highway Administration.

— Ben Kochman, the director of pipeline safety policy at the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. Kochman was previously the director of governmental, international and public affairs for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Andrew Giacini, who is currently a special assistant to National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman, is no longer supporting the transition team, two people familiar with the situation said. While the reason for Giacini’s departure is unclear, he was one of five FAA or DOT officials who resigned from the first Trump administration after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Giacini declined to comment. Smith, Ray and Kochman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Plans and Urban could not be reached for comment.

As Blue Light News previously reported, the landing team already includes Skip Elliott, who worked under Trump’s DOT as administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and also as acting DOT inspector general. Also on the team is Brigham McCown, a veteran Trump transition official who served on the transition in 2016. McCown was one of the original leaders in the PHMSA during the administration of George W. Bush, and the chief counsel at Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

One of the transition officials familiar with the team’s plans said the team continues to schedule stakeholder meetings with various transportation and labor groups spanning airlines, automobiles and the rail sector ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. So far, the team has reached out or spoken to more than 60 groups, the official said.

Congress

Trump discusses his viral moment with Obama

Published

6 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Donald Trump is talking about what appeared to be a warm moment between him and Barack Obama.

Trump concedes the pair did seem to be on friendly terms when cameras captured them chatting, and Obama laughing as they sat next to each other Thursday at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.

The president-elect was asked about it later in a Fox News interview from his home in Florida.

“It did look very friendly, I must say,” Trump said. “I didn’t realize how friendly it looked. I saw it on your wonderful network, just a little while ago before I came in and I said ‘Boy, they look like two people that like each other.’ And we probably do,” he said.

Trump didn’t say what he and Obama were talking about in the viral moment.

“We have little different philosophies, right? I don’t know, we just got along. But I got along with everybody on that. You know we met backstage before we went on, and I thought it was a beautiful service, but we all got along very well.”

Trump answered questions from Fox News’ Peter Doocy for roughly 20 minutes ahead of the president-elect’s meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago.

He again criticized state and local officials in California for their handling of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and reiterated his interest in Greenland and making Canada into the 51st state.

He didn’t have an answer on whether he supported the Biden administration’s talks with the Taliban for the release of Americans held in Afghanistan, saying he would be looking into it on Friday. Asked about recent mysterious drone sightings, he vowed to release a report the day after his inauguration “because I think it’s ridiculous they’re not telling you about the drones.”

Trump also said his team is working on scheduling meetings with several foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. He said his team has also been in communication with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Congress

Another Fox News alum invited to join the new Trump administration

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Donald Trump has picked Fox News contributor Leo Terrell to serve as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, Harmeet K. Dhillon.

Trump said Terrell, a civil rights attorney and talk radio host in California, will work closely alongside Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California GOP who represented the state on the Republican National Committee.

The president-elect also announced that former Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown would be taking a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Trump called Terrell a “highly respected civil rights attorney and political analyst” and said in a statement Thursday that he will be a “fantastic advocate for the American People.”

Fox contributors set to join the new administration also include Tammy Bruce, Trump’s pick for State Department spokesperson, and Pete Hegseth, his choice to lead the Pentagon.

The president-elect also announced Thursday that he was tapping Brown to be undersecretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Brown, a Purple Heart recipient with a captivating personal story, narrowly lost the Nevada Senate race to incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen in November.

“He fearlessly proved his love for our Country in the Army, while leading Troops in battle in Afghanistan and, after being honorably retired as a Captain, helping our Veterans get access to emergency medications,” Trump said in a statement. “Sam will now continue his service to our Great Nation at the VA, where he will work tirelessly to ensure we put America’s Veterans FIRST, and remember ALL who served.”

Congress

Trump’s pick for Sweden ambassador didn’t clear the Senate when he nominated her the last time

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Donald Trump is trying again with Christine Jack Toretti — this time nominating her to serve as the next ambassador to Sweden.

During his last administration, Trump tapped Toretti, a businesswoman and GOP fundraiser, as his pick to become the ambassador to Malta. The Senate never confirmed her, returning her nomination in 2019 and again in 2020, with Democrats questioning the quality of some of Trump’s nominees. Toretti at the time was reported to have had a restraining order filed against her for allegedly putting a bullet-riddled target sheet in the office of her ex-husband’s doctor.

In a statement Thursday, Trump called Toretti an “incredible businesswoman, philanthropist, public servant, and RNC Committeewoman for the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” touting her lengthy resume, including her role as chair of S&T Bancorp and as the former director of the Pittsburgh Federal Reserve Bank.