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Another White House Exit: Transportation Sec. Lahood Out

Jan. 29, 2013 9:35am Becket Adams

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Resigns From White House Post

Ray LaHood listens during a news conference… (Brendan Hoffman/Getty)

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the only Republican still in President Barack Obama’s first-term Cabinet, said Tuesday he plans to leave the Obama administration.

LaHood, a former congressman from Illinois, led the Transportation Department throughout Obama’s first term and helped steer a number of safety initiatives and highway projects, including steps to curb distracted driving, promote high-speed rail and repair roads, and bridges. Under his watch, the department demanded more stringent fuel efficiency requirements for automakers and took steps to address airline pilot fatigue.

LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press that he told Obama a week after the November election that he needed to move on but said he was still “conflicted” by his decision because he liked working for Obama and considered it the “best job I’ve ever had in public service.”

He said he plans to remain at the department until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, which he expected in about two months. The only other Republican who was in Obama’s first-term Cabinet was Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who stepped aside and was replaced by Democrat Leon Panetta earlier.

LaHood said he would not run for public office in his home state of Illinois and said he did not have any specific plans.

“I have had a good run. I’m one of these people who believe that you should go out while they’re applauding,” he said. LaHood said he was content to watch from the sidelines as his oldest son, Darin, serves in the Illinois state senate.

Ray LaHood. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

President Obama is remaking his Cabinet at the beginning of his second term with the departures of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Panetta, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Possible replacements for LaHood include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has pushed for increased rail service in Los Angeles and served as chairman of last year’s Democratic National Convention, and Debbie Hersman, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. The name of former Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, who led the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has also been mentioned.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

The AP contributed to this report.

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Comments (24)

CunningLawyer
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:26am
He liked working for Obama because he was never there.

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- georgette
  Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:05am
  is he taking thw bus? driving a “green” car…… walking perhaps?
  
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mash4077
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:48pm
La Hood: I had so much fun screwing the american sheeple, best job I ever had.they’ll be feeling the effects of my incompetence for decades to come.uh,wheres my golden parachute courtesy of the sheeple?

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dopie joe
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 8:14pm
this man had a lot to do with how screwed up the the trucking industry is now.

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ENIGMA28724
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 7:08pm
Something doesn’t match up here. He says it’s the best job he every had, but resigns? Maybe he’s getting out while the getting is good, like rats from a sinking [I hope] ship.

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Gargent_Furball
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 11:31am
What ? You mean you can no longer support your God and Chief. ??

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- turkey13
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 3:22pm
  Good ridence – this is the idiot that did the coverup on the Chevy Volts catching fire. To fix the problem they came up with a app that contacts you when your Volt catches fire. The government had to protect it’s investment in GM.
  
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- JRook
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 5:08pm
  Perhaps you missed this statement. ?he was still “conflicted” by his decision because he liked working for Obama and considered it the “best job I’ve ever had in public service.” and let’s be clear that this author would present it in as negative a light as possible to begin with.
  
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- JRook
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 5:09pm
  @turkey13 So I guess Boeing utilized the same engineering or battery firm?
  
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dnewton
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:49am
Ray LaHood was a Republican like Arlan Spector was a Republican. He would not sign onto the Contract for America during the Gingrich years and he was a limp-wristed Liberal when it came to transportation policy. He seem to be in another world when praising bicycles and sidewalks and to this day can not see what is wrong with spending 5% of the transportation budget every year for more than 20 years on non-road projects. He never saw the damage done to the transportation trust fund by fuel economy edicts and never lifted a finger to fix the problem either. His infatuation with trains was embarrassing to anyone who is familiar with their financial and practical limitations. He saw nothing wrong with using the transportation budget as a vast pile of money for ear marking inefficient and inadvisable transportation projects. He did nothing to stop the flow of transportation money from urban areas to rural through redistribution formulas that had very little to do with wear and tear and usage. He promised more than can be delivered, redistributed or stolen. No matter how bad the system worked, he never thought it could be improved except by more money, trains and bicycles. He never considered taking any responsibility for the death toll on the highways by virtue of congressional policies. He blamed cell phones and texting when he should have blamed himself and the increased size and number of trucks on the road versus the decreased size of cars.

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- chitown
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 2:12pm
  dnewton…you just described most of the “republicans” in Illinois.
  
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AmericanStrega
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:28am
Ray The Hood.

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Amazingoly
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:13am
Not a big loss in most opinions.

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Jim in Houston
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:13am
Pretty soon all that will be left is the captain of this stinking, ‘er sinking, ship.

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- barber2
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:26am
  Unfortunately, we are his passengers…
  
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truthnstuff
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:11am
He got his share of the people’s money, moving on, NEXT.

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Zipit
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:50am
So more of the rats are jumpin ship! For this administration it’s no big deal. Others will emerge from the murky bowels of a slowly sinking ship to serve Black Beard!!! “Bilge Rats”, if you will! They’ll never run out! AAAAAAARGHHH……

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Vickie Dhaene
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:47am
Another Rat jumping ship?

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Gonzo
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:45am
Don’t worry, there is no shortage of liberal/progressives to replace him with.

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thibx
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:44am
i dn’t know how anybody wih half a brain could go along with warped minded oboma.

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Watcher1952
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:42am
Rats are leaving the sinking ship……All those NLRB appointments have to leave also….and they need to pay back all the money they robbed the tax payers of…..

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- stopprintn
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:58am
  Think that one has to go to SCOTUS, Obo will not let go so easy. The case has merit and should hold. The key to defeating Obo is to lock his **** up in court every time he goes to the bathroom.
  
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- SamIamTwo
  Posted on January 29, 2013 at 10:19am
  First wave, change the regulations…second wave implement the new regulations.
  
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barber2
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 9:41am
Blaze please do a synopsis on the caliber , the backgrounds, and the political leanings of the new Obama appointees.

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