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Driving The Day
A PREVIEW OF TRUMP 2.0?: In the end, Congress cleared a stopgap spending bill, keeping the government funded and pushing the next shutdown deadline to mid-March. But the dysfunctional, mad dash to the finish line offered a glimpse into the possible infighting to come during President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration. Republicans rejected Trump’s demands to raise or eliminate the debt limit — but they caved to pressure from him and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his X bullhorn to scrap an initial bipartisan spending deal. Musk’s unprecedented public intervention is a prelude to how the world’s richest man might attempt to reshape the federal bureaucracy to his liking.
TAKING THE TEMPERATURE ON MUSK: Your MT host asked Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top Republican appropriator in the Senate, for her reaction to Musk injecting himself into the spending showdown: “Well, he has a right to say whatever he wishes,” Collins said Friday. “I think the process works better when the incoming president makes his request known far earlier ... rather than at the 11th hour.”
— Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz, who is set to take the Senate Commerce Committee’s gavel, was blunt (and astute) when commenting on the billionaire: “He’s a man with strong opinions, and he’s not shy about sharing ‘em.”
ICYMI: The continuing resolution included a 100 percent federal cost share for the rebuild of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and extended counter-drone authorities, Sam reports. The House passed it Friday evening, and the Senate cleared it Saturday morning (technically after the 12:01 a.m. deadline), with President Joe Biden signing it later in the day.
Trump Transition
WHAT’S NEXT FOR DUFFY?: Cruz said Friday he aims to hold a confirmation hearing for Sean Duffy, the DOT secretary nominee, before Trump’s inauguration (i.e. sometime in early January). Sam has the story.
TRUMP MAKES FRA PICK: Trump announced Saturday his nominee for FRA administrator: David Fink, a former president of Pan Am Railways, a Massachusetts company that CSX acquired in 2022. At the time, CSX said Pan Am owned and operated a nearly 1,200-mile rail network. In a Truth Social post, the president-elect wrote that Fink “will deliver the FRA into a new era of safety and technological innovation,” Sam reports.
— Chuck Baker, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, in a statement said his group knows Fink as a “high energy, solution-minded strategist.”
SPEAKING OF “DOGE” ...: Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, co-head of the cost-cutting initiative along with Musk, in a Friday post on X wrote, “Mass firings are a necessity, not a choice.”
On the Hill
NEW FACES: Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Friday night announced Republican committee assignments for the next Congress. Your MT host looked at the two main panels with jurisdiction over transportation issues.
— The Commerce Committee: Senators-elect John Curtis (R-Utah), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) are joining. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), of course, is leaving to become Trump’s vice president.
— The Environment and Public Works Committee: Curtis and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) are listed as new members. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) is off the roster.
Transit
BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: The Senate around 12:40 a.m. Saturday, by voice vote, confirmed the following Biden nominees to the Amtrak board for five-year terms: David Capozzi, a former executive director of the U.S. Access Board; Ronald Batory, who led FRA during Trump’s first term; Elaine Clegg, CEO of Valley Regional Transit in Idaho; and Lanhee Chen, a prominent California Republican and Stanford University lecturer.
Maritime
TAKING AIM AT ... PANAMA?: Trump in Truth Social posts Saturday threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal, which the U.S. officially ceded in 1999. What sparked the president-elect’s interest remains unclear, Eric Bazail-Eimil reports. He accused Panama of charging U.S. vessels “exorbitant” rates for passage.
Automobiles
NEW LIFE FOR AV FRAMEWORK?: Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), who will soon chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told Chris he wants to kickstart fresh attention to a federal framework for autonomous vehicles — an effort that has previously stalled on Capitol Hill. Guthrie said he views the topic as being ripe for bipartisan work and expects to hold hearings in the new Congress to “figure out exactly what the details need to be.”
IF YOU WANT TO!: NHTSA, meanwhile, announced Friday its own voluntary framework for AVs with a review and reporting standard for vehicles on public roads. Chris has the details.
ANOTHER DECLINE: The agency released estimates Friday showing that traffic fatalities dropped for the ninth straight quarter. From January to September, over 29,100 people died in crashes — a decrease of about 4.4 percent compared to the same time period last year.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES: NHTSA said Friday it has upgraded its preliminary probe of alleged Volkswagen Atlas braking issues into an engineering analysis to “further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety-related consequences.” The inquiry began in 2023 as regulators examined reports of “inadvertent activation” of the SUV’s Front Assist automatic emergency braking, or AEB, system in model year 2018-2019 vehicles. NHTSA found that the 2019 Atlas has “the highest rate of unique incident reports alleging AEB inadvertent activation when compared to their Volkswagen peers.”
— The agency has reviewed 187 reports that may be related to the potential defect, including several injuries and one crash. Its analysis will cover more than 101,000 2019 Atlas vehicles. Volkswagen didn’t respond to a request for comment.
ICYMI: The ride-sharing company Lyft has two big asks for Trump: nationwide benefits for gig workers and U.S. standards for AVs. CEO David Risher told POLITICO Tech that he’s optimistic about the incoming administration and its deregulation agenda.
drones
THE EMPIRE STATE, TOO: The FAA announced Friday more temporary flight restrictions on drones in the Northeast after a spate of sightings stirred up a social media frenzy. They are over “critical” infrastructure in New York — 30 utility sites. (The agency has also imposed limitations over parts of New Jersey, the epicenter of the phenomena.)
LEARNING IN REAL TIME: Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) has been walking his X followers through what he sees and hears about the reported drones (which the White House says are lawful aircraft, with a mix of both crewed and uncrewed vehicles). In a thread Friday — which as far as your MT host can tell provides the most detail yet on the federal government’s response to the situation — Kim offered insight into three briefings he recently received from the Biden administration, including the FBI. “I’m hearing from everyone that detection resources are heightened, reported sightings are down, no confirmed threat/concern,” Kim wrote.
Highways
HELPING OUT THE CRITTERS: FHWA on Friday announced $125 million in grants for 16 wildlife crossing projects in 16 states through a program created by the 2021 infrastructure law. Details can be found here.
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