United States Secretary of Transportation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United States Secretary of Transportation
Flag of the secretary
Seal of the Department of Transportation
Incumbent Sean Duffy since January 28, 2025
United States Department of Transportation
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	the United States Cabinet
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	49 U.S.C. § 102
Formation	October 15, 1966 (58 years ago) (1966-10-15)
First holder	Alan Stephenson Boyd
Succession	Fourteenth
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Transportation
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I

The United States Secretary of Transportation is a very important job in the U.S. government. This person leads the United States Department of Transportation. They are the main helper and advisor to the President of the United States on all things about transportation.

This means they help make sure our country's roads, trains, planes, and ships work well. The Secretary is also part of the Cabinet of the United States. This is a group of top advisors to the President. The Secretary is also 14th in line to become President if something happens to the President and Vice President.

The Secretary of Transportation manages a huge department. It has over 55,000 employees! It also includes 13 different agencies. Some of these are the Federal Aviation Administration (for planes) and the Federal Highway Administration (for roads). The Secretary earns a good salary for this big responsibility.

Currently, Sean Duffy is the 20th Secretary of Transportation. He started his job on January 28, 2025. President Donald Trump chose him for this role. The United States Senate then voted to approve him.

What is the History of the Secretary of Transportation?

The job of Secretary of Transportation was created on October 15, 1966. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a law to make this happen. The main goal of the department is to create a good transportation system. This system should be efficient and save money. It also needs to consider our country's needs, the environment, and national defense.

Who Were the First Secretaries?

The very first Secretary of Transportation was Alan S. Boyd. He was chosen by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Later, Elizabeth Dole became the first woman to hold this job. This was during President Ronald Reagan's time. Mary Peters was the second woman to serve.

William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. was the first African American Secretary. He served under President Gerald Ford. Federico Peña was the first Hispanic person to hold the position. He worked for President Bill Clinton.

Who Served the Longest and Shortest?

Norman Mineta, who is Japanese-American, served the longest. He was Secretary for over five and a half years. On the other hand, Andrew Card served the shortest time, only eleven months.

Who Was the Youngest Secretary?

Pete Buttigieg became the youngest Secretary. He was 39 years and 15 days old when he started. This made him younger than Neil Goldschmidt, who was 39 years and 3 months old. Norman Mineta was the oldest when he retired at age 74.

In 2008, Secretary Mary Peters started an official blog. It was called The Fast Lane. This blog shared news and updates from the department.

Recent Secretaries of Transportation

Ray LaHood became the 16th Secretary in 2009. He served under President Barack Obama. Before this, he was a Republican congressman. Anthony Foxx was the 17th Secretary, also serving under President Obama.

Elaine Chao was chosen by President Donald Trump in 2016. She had also been the United States Secretary of Labor before. She resigned in January 2021. After her, several people served as acting secretaries for short periods. Pete Buttigieg was the 19th Secretary. He served during President Joe Biden's time.

List of Secretaries of Transportation

This table shows all the people who have served as the Secretary of Transportation. It also shows which President they served under.

      Democratic (8)       Republican (12)

Status

      Denotes acting Secretary of Transportation

No.	Portrait	Secretary	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President
1		Boyd, Alan S.Alan S. Boyd	Florida	January 16, 1967	January 20, 1969		Johnson, Lyndon B.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
2		Volpe, JohnJohn Volpe	Massachusetts	January 22, 1969	February 2, 1973		Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (1969–1974)
3		Brinegar, ClaudeClaude Brinegar	California	February 2, 1973	February 1, 1975
							Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (1974–1977)
4		Coleman Jr., William ThaddeusWilliam Thaddeus Coleman Jr.	Pennsylvania	March 7, 1975	January 20, 1977
5		Adams, BrockBrock Adams	Washington	January 23, 1977	July 20, 1979		Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (1977–1981)
6		Goldschmidt, NeilNeil Goldschmidt	Oregon	September 24, 1979	January 20, 1981
7		Lewis, DrewDrew Lewis	Pennsylvania	January 23, 1981	February 1, 1983		Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (1981–1989)
8		Dole, ElizabethElizabeth Dole	Kansas	February 7, 1983	September 30, 1987
9		Burnley IV, James H.James H. Burnley IV	North Carolina	December 3, 1987	January 20, 1989
10		Skinner, Samuel K.Samuel K. Skinner	Illinois	February 6, 1989	December 13, 1991		Bush, George H. W.George H. W. Bush (1989–1993)
11		Card, AndrewAndrew Card	Massachusetts	February 24, 1992	January 20, 1993
12		Peña, FedericoFederico Peña	Colorado	January 21, 1993	February 14, 1997		Clinton, BillBill Clinton (1993–2001)
13		Slater, Rodney E.Rodney E. Slater	Arkansas	February 14, 1997	January 20, 2001
–		Downey III, Mortimer L.Mortimer L. Downey III Acting	Virginia	January 20, 2001	January 25, 2001		Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2001–2009)
14		Mineta, NormanNorman Mineta	California	January 25, 2001	August 7, 2006
–		Cino, MariaMaria Cino Acting	New York	August 7, 2006	October 17, 2006
15		Peters, Mary E.Mary E. Peters	Arizona	October 17, 2006	January 20, 2009
16		LaHood, RayRay LaHood	Illinois	January 23, 2009	July 2, 2013		Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2009–2017)
17		Foxx, AnthonyAnthony Foxx	North Carolina	July 2, 2013	January 20, 2017
–		Huerta, MichaelMichael Huerta Acting	California	January 20, 2017	January 31, 2017		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2017–2021)
18		Chao, ElaineElaine Chao	Kentucky	January 31, 2017	January 11, 2021
–		Bradbury, Steven G.Steven G. Bradbury Acting	Oregon	January 12, 2021	January 20, 2021
–		Hurdle, LanaLana Hurdle Acting	Virginia	January 20, 2021	February 3, 2021		Biden, JoeJoe Biden (2021–2025)
19		Buttigieg, PetePete Buttigieg	Indiana	February 3, 2021	January 20, 2025
–		Kaleta, JudithJudith Kaleta Acting	Illinois	January 20, 2025	January 28, 2025		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present)
20		Sean Duffy	Wisconsin	January 28, 2025	present

Who Takes Over if the Secretary Can't Serve?

There is a special order of people who would take over if the Secretary of Transportation cannot do their job. This is called the line of succession. It makes sure that someone is always in charge of transportation.

Here are the top people in line:

• The Deputy Secretary of Transportation
• The Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy
• The General Counsel (the department's main lawyer)
• The Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs
• The Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy

See also

In Spanish: Secretario de Transporte de los Estados Unidos para niños