Secretary Mineta Names New Deputy Chief of Staff

US Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta tells us that Martin T. Whitmer Jr. is the new Deputy Chief of Staff of the Department of Transportation, replacing Vincent T. Taylor, who last month became the Assistant Secretary for Administration at the Department of Transportation. 

“I am pleased to advance Martin to Deputy Chief of Staff. He has helped the Department move forward on many important issues – most notably surface transportation policy, safety, energy, and environmental stewardship,” Secretary Mineta said.  

In addition to his role as Deputy Chief of Staff, Whitmer will also serve as the Secretary’s point person on the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and the energy bill. Whitmer joined the U.S. Department of Transportation in March 2001 as an assistant to the Secretary for policy.  In that capacity, he advised the Secretary on highway, transit, energy, motor carrier and safety issues. 

Before that, from 1997-2001, Whitmer was the Vice President of Government Relations for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), where he directed legislative and coalition activities that helped enact the TEA-21. Whitmer served as the Republican lobbyist for the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) from 1994-1996.  In 1993, he worked for the National Rifle Association and former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm (Texas).  

Whitmer earned his undergraduate degree in government at Georgetown University and received a joint law and master’s degree from the evening program at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. Martin is from Dallas.  He and his wife, Julie, live in Washington, DC.

FMI: www.dot.gov