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Ted Cruz Makes The Case For Three Of Trump's Top Transportation Department Nominees
Forbes Breaking News
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7/21/2025
During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke about three nominations for the Department of Transportation.
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00:00
Today we're considering the president's nominees to lead three safety agencies within the Department
00:06
of Transportation.
00:08
With us today are Mr. Derek Bars, nominee for Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier
00:13
Safety Administration, Mr. Jonathan Morrison, nominee for Administrator of the National
00:19
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Mr. Paul Roberti, nominee for the Administrator
00:26
of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
00:31
Americans want a transportation system that is fast, convenient, and reliable, but above
00:37
all, safe.
00:41
President Trump and Secretary Duffy have made safety the top priority of the Department of
00:46
Transportation, and the three nominees before us intend to make it theirs as well.
00:53
As a young deputy sheriff in Florida, Mr. Bars responded to a nighttime collision between
01:00
a logging truck and a car full of young adults.
01:04
Ever since, he has spent his career working to improve large truck and motor carrier safety.
01:12
Mr. Bars served for nearly three decades in law enforcement, rising from deputy sheriff to
01:18
head of Florida's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
01:23
He is deeply familiar with the FMCSA, having enforced federal motor vehicle regulations and
01:32
managed FMCSA grants in the state.
01:37
As Administrator of FMCSA, he hopes to modernize the regulations governing the nation's trucking
01:45
and busing industries.
01:48
Mr. Morrison is equally dedicated to the mission of NHTSA, ensuring that cars on our road are
01:55
safe and reliable.
01:58
This won't be his first time at the agency.
02:01
Mr. Morrison served as NHTSA's chief counsel during the first Trump administration, and having
02:06
worked at a leading tech company over the last four years, he recognizes that NHTSA safety
02:12
standards must keep up with automotive innovation.
02:17
Our third nominee, Mr. Roberti, is ready to manage PHMSA, which oversees transport of hazardous
02:26
materials.
02:27
This includes the movement of oil, natural gas, and other critical American energy products,
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over three million miles of pipeline in this country.
02:38
That's in addition to hazardous materials that we move by truck, rail, water, or air.
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I am hopeful that Ranking Member Cantwell and I can broker an agreement on an overdue PHMSA
02:50
reauthorization that can be implemented by the new PHMSA administrator.
02:56
Like Mr. Morrison, Mr. Roberti served during the first Trump administration as chief counsel
03:01
at the agency to which he has been nominated.
03:05
In that role, he cleared backlogs of hundreds of enforcement matters at PHMSA.
03:12
And in various roles in Rhode Island state government, Mr. Roberti modernized the state's pipelines,
03:18
increased their safety, and shared what he learned with other states.
03:22
I'm excited to hear what he can bring to the federal agency this time around.
03:27
I look forward to hearing from all our nominees.
03:30
And now turn to Ranking Member Cantwell.
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