| | | | |  | | By Sam Ogozalek and Chris Marquette | With help from Oriana Pawlyk
| | — Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for DOT secretary, is visiting with lawmakers this week, including incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune. — Thursday is the big day: Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Crawford will present to the Republican Steering Committee on why they should chair the House Transportation panel. — As the threat of another East and Gulf Coast dockworkers strike rises, trade groups are sounding the alarm. 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 Sam at sogozalek@politico.com, Chris at cmarquette@politico.com, Oriana at opawlyk@politico.com and Cassandra at cdumay@politico.com and follow us at @SamOgozalek, @ChrisMarquette_, @Oriana0214 and @cassandra_dumay. “But I would walk five hundred miles/ And I would walk five hundred more/ Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.”
| | BUSY TIMES ON THE HILL: It’s another active week in Congress as the holiday recess approaches: former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for DOT secretary, is visiting with Senate Commerce Committee members, and the contest for House Transportation Committee chair is coming to a head. Here’s what your MT team will be monitoring: DUFFY’S VISION: Duffy — a previous Fox Business personality, district attorney for a Wisconsin county and House representative (who didn’t serve on T&I) — is poised to meet with multiple Commerce members this week, including likely Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who will be the Senate Majority Leader, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Duffy is putting together his team as he enters this pivotal stretch, stacking his crew with Pete Meachum, his former chief of staff on Capitol Hill, who also worked on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (when the California Republican was the GOP whip). Meachum is currently at Cronos Group, a cannabinoid company. And Kyle Plotkin, a former chief of staff to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, is Duffy’s sherpa for the nomination process. Meachum and Plotkin couldn’t be reached for comment. Chris has the scoop here. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS: The Republican Steering Committee on Thursday will hear pitches from Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) on why they are best suited to chair T&I, two House aides told Chris. (ICYMI, here’s a full breakdown on how Graves, who currently has the panel’s gavel, received a waiver from Steering last week to circumvent term limits and have a shot at retaining the top spot.) — Even though Graves secured the waiver, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), a Steering member, told POLITICO that it’s a race: “We really should be able to choose from the best. ... So let’s put them both up there and see.”
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| | AND SO IT BEGINS: Getting any flashbacks, MT readers? A National Retail Federation-led coalition of almost 270 trade groups — who advocate for industries ranging from farmers to manufacturers — sent a letter Friday to leaders of the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX, urging them to return to the bargaining table. If the sides don’t reach a deal on a new contract soon, another dockworkers strike could begin Jan. 15, crimping supply chains on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast. The interests warned that the ILA’s nearly three-day strike in early October, which ended following pressure from the Biden administration, led to additional costs (which “are still being felt”) for stakeholders who rely on ports. — The main issue in negotiations, a person familiar with the talks previously told your MT host, is the ILA’s push to ban new semi-automated technology at ports. In the trade groups’ letter Friday, they argued that modernization efforts “will benefit all parties and are essential to address current and future throughput issues.” WHO’S WORRIED?: Spotted on the list of signers: the Alliance for Automotive Innovation; the American Automotive Policy Council; the American International Automobile Dealers Association; the American Trucking Associations; the Association of American Railroads; Autos Drive America; MEMA; the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America; the Transportation Intermediaries Association; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
| | | INFLUENCE SHAKE UP: Boeing and its top lobbyist, Ziad Ojakli, known as “Z,” have parted ways, according to four people familiar with the matter, Caitlin Oprysko, Oriana and Daniel Lippman report. He declined to comment, and Boeing didn’t have an immediate comment. A person close to him said he quit in a disagreement over strategy with Kelly Ortberg, the company’s new CEO. Ortberg in an email to staff, obtained by POLITICO, said Bill McSherry, who heads the plane-maker’s state and local government affairs team out of Seattle, will run its government affairs shop on an interim basis. MORE HEAT FROM INDUSTRY: The International Air Transport Association in a statement Friday said it is disappointed in DOT’s ANPRM aimed at boosting compensation for airline passengers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed because of a carrier’s issue, arguing that similar frameworks in the EU and Canada have proven “completely ineffective in reducing underlying delays or [cancellations].” The European regulation, the association said, costs airlines over $5 billion per year — which passengers eventually pay through higher fares and reduced choice. The trade group said the U.S. government should instead focus on its understaffed and aging air traffic control system. When announcing the “pre-rule” last week, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement said it was “another step forward into a better era for commercial air travel — where the flying public is better protected.”
| | | | Write your own chapter in the new Washington. From the Lame Duck Congress Series to New Administration insights, POLITICO Pro delivers intelligence across 22+ policy areas to help you anticipate and navigate change. Discover how a Pro subscription empowers you. Learn more today. | | | | | | | | GET GOING!: Graves and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote to FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker on Friday urging his agency to move faster on commercial space launch and reentry licensing, Oriana reports. The FAA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but it recently stood up an advisory committee to examine the application process and see how it can be improved. Space companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, have groused over what they say are lengthy delays in getting the FAA’s OK for launches. (The agency says it will respond directly to the lawmakers.)
| | | SLIGHT INCREASE: The unemployment rate in the U.S. transportation sector was 4.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in November, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Friday, citing data from the Labor Department. That’s a jump of 0.3 percent compared to the rate in the same month last year. It’s also above the pre-pandemic rate of 3.3 percent in November 2019.
| | | THE HOLIDAY BUSTLE: The Governors Highway Safety Association announced Monday a partnership with Amazon in which they crafted a digitized safety tip card for delivery drivers. It emphasizes that they should: slow down, especially in residential areas; avoid distracted driving; and remain vigilant for pedestrians and other personnel.
| | — “Boeing whistleblower says ‘thousands’ of faulty or nonconforming parts go missing during plane production.” 60 Minutes. — “Trump’s NASA pick a boon for SpaceX, but will face political challenges.” Reuters. — “Stellantis to rejoin ACEA auto manufacturers association.” Reuters. — “Never Before Have So Many Sailors Been Abandoned at Sea.” Wall Street Journal. — “Delta Doubles Down on Luxury to Attract High-End Fliers.” Wall Street Journal. — “Auto Production Tumbles in Canada Before Trump’s Return as Detroit Pulls Back.” Bloomberg. — “Uber Launches First Robotaxi Service Outside of US in Abu Dhabi.” Bloomberg. — “Stellantis recalling more than 300,000 Ram trucks for braking system defect.” AP. — “Trump transition nearly a month behind on key policy prep.” POLITICO Pro. — “Chairs, tires and other debris on Beltway concern commuters.” NBC4. — “FMCSA Wins Landmark Judgement Against Moving Company.” FMCSA. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
