| | | | |  | | By Oriana Pawlyk | With help from Doug Palmer
| | — DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg's stock could be rising as the veepstakes continues. How well positioned is he for the opportunity? — Online shoppers could be helping reduce roadway emissions. — China-based drone maker DJI boosted its lobbying effort last quarter. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. We’re glad you’re here. Send tips, feedback and song lyrics to Chris at cmarquette@politico.com and Oriana at opawlyk@politico.com and follow us at, @oriana0214 and @ChrisMarquette_. Through wading grass, the months will pass // You'll feel it all around // I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere // But you can't catch me now
| | | | Pro Briefing: Kamala Harris and the World. What we expect on foreign policy and trade. Join POLITICO Pro for a deep-dive conversation with our specialist reporters about the vice president’s approach to foreign policy. Register Now. | | | | | | | | | ARE THE CHANCES GROWING DIM? DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg has veep vibes — that’s at least the public perception surrounding Buttigieg since his sudden (re)burst onto television, social media and even the meme circuit. Adam Wren and Christopher Cadelago report that “The Pete for Veep trial balloon is approaching mid-flight,” and that Buttigieg is open to serving alongside presidential hopeful Kamala Harris. (Buttigieg of late has been out front of the recent Delta Air Lines meltdown, interspersed with TV interviews jabbing back at Republican vice presidential contender Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and rallying behind the Harris campaign.) But some Harris allies may not be so warm to that prospect. Adam and Christopher chatted with many of Harris’ confidantes who say the former California senator will be “ruthlessly pragmatic” about who she picks for the job. Others have thrown cold water on Buttigieg for having too much of an “inside-the-Beltway” feel at a time when the Democratic ticket needs to pivot toward key battleground states. But Buttigieg does have one key advantage: Amid a compressed time frame for Harris to select a running mate, his advanced vetting status as a Senate-confirmed Cabinet member could make him appealing. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | YES, THEY’RE SHARING YOUR DATA: Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) want the FTC to open an investigation into automakers disclosing driving data, which eventually makes its way into the hands of insurance companies — something manufacturers have admitted to doing, the senators say. In a statement Friday, Wyden’s office said the Oregon senator's investigation earlier this year into automakers showed that driving data, like sudden braking and acceleration, is passed on to data brokers for subsequent resale to insurance companies. While FTC has taken some action, the senators want to hold the automakers — like GM, Honda and Hyundai — responsible for their data disclosure. BUY ONLINE, SAVE A GALLON: The Chamber of Progress is expected to release a new report today that analyzes how online delivery reduces emissions and roadway usage. The analysis factors in how many gallons of gas are used in individual trips to the store and compares that with gas spent on online deliveries. The driving factor (no pun intended) is that a single e-commerce delivery route, on average, serves up to 200 customers per trip — whereas individual trips to the store serve a single household.
| | | | THEY’RE SAYING WHAT? The head of the Senate Commerce Committee last week sent a letter to the president of Union Pacific Railroad over reports that it tried to “coach” employees to respond a certain way in an FRA safety survey, potentially manipulating the results. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) on Thursday said she was “deeply concerned” that FRA ultimately had to discontinue its audit assessment “due to Union Pacific’s actions to undermine the integrity of the assessment process.” “FRA found that employees companywide — regardless of craft or employment location across 23 states — had been coached to provide specific responses to FRA safety inspector surveys and report the interactions they had with FRA inspectors to their supervisors,” Cantwell wrote in her letter to Union Pacific’s President Beth Whited. And now, the senator wants documentation on the company's communication regarding the FRA’s safety culture audit, more insight on the company's current policies and details on its plans “to improve its safety culture and ensure employees can report safety problems without fear of retaliation.” A spokesperson for Union Pacific told POLITICO in a statement on Friday that safety “is the key foundational pillar of everything we do, and we appreciate the letter from the Senator and Committee and will respond with facts to the questions that were presented.” The spokesperson said that the railroad also closely works with FRA to look for ways it can ensure its business is safe.
| | | | The space economy is already woven into our lives in ways we don't always appreciate, creating a global backbone for communications, media, data, science and defense. It's also becoming an increasingly competitive zone among nations - and a venue for complex and important public-private partnerships. Join POLITICO on July 30 for a conversation about what Washington needs to understand is at stake – which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space, and what the role of government leaders is in both growing and regulating the explosion of orbital ideas. REGISTER | | | | | | | | DJI boosts lobbying efforts: Our colleagues at POLITICO Influence have run the numbers on some Chinese companies that have been in lawmakers’ crosshairs of late but nonetheless ramped up their lobbying last quarter. Drone manufacturer DJI Technologies spent $380,000 on federal lobbying in the second quarter of this year — up from $310,000 in the first quarter of 2024. Lobbying firms Avoq and the Vogel Group both dropped the company in February, but DJI subsequently hired Sidley Austin, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur and Liberty Government Affairs. Still, the lobbying effort is down from the $400,000 it spent in each quarter of 2023 and its quarterly record of $420,000 spent in the final months of 2020, when DJI was placed on a Commerce Department entity list. The company faced a new legislative threat this summer, with the House including language in its version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would block DJI drones from accessing FCC infrastructure. PI has the rundown for how other Chinese companies compare.
| | | U.S. DELAYS CHINA’S IRA CHALLENGE: The United States on Friday blocked China’s request for a WTO dispute settlement panel to decide whether key provisions of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act violate global trade rules. Beijing can make a second request for a panel, which the United States will not be able to block, at the WTO’s next Dispute Settlement Body meeting on September 23. It could also request a special DSB meeting earlier, if it prefers not to wait. ‘Hypocrisy’: While it is fairly routine for countries to block initial panel requests, the United States delivered a long defense during Friday’s DSB meeting of the subsidies provided for electric vehicles and other clean energy priorities under IRA. The U.S. delegate at the meeting also accused China of trade “hypocrisy” given Beijing’s own actions. “In short, it is hypocritical for China to target the U.S. measures in this dispute while failing to address its industrial targeting of clean energy sectors and its use of non-market policies and practices that are detrimental to all Members,” the U.S. delegate said. “China’s approach has created an untenable situation for governments seeking to meet their climate, resiliency, and other legitimate policy objectives.” For its part, China argued that there are many “deeply problematic” elements of IRA, but it was limiting its challenge to those provisions that are “clearly prohibited under WTO rules” or that otherwise discriminate against goods of Chinese origin, according to a Geneva-based trade official who summarized China’s comments. Those include subsidies provided by IRA that are contingent upon the use of domestic goods, rather than imported goods.
| | | | — “Unions play it cool in veepstakes.” POLITICO. — “Boeing asks suppliers for decade-long titanium paper trail as check for forgeries widens.” Reuters. — “Green aviation solutions have yet to take off as climate restrictions loom.” Seattle Times — “Biden made history with his climate actions. Here’s how Trump could unravel them.” POLITICO — “The life of two Boeing Starliner astronauts stuck indefinitely in space.” Washington Post. — “Can Fees on Polluting Cars Clean the Air? London Has New Evidence.” New York Times. — “60 Million Miles And Counting: Robotaxis Shift Into High Gear.” Forbes. — “French minister says foreign involvement not ruled out in rail sabotage.” Reuters. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
