Trump's transportation secretary: Can one former passenger train supporter be redeemed?

Now that the buzz about the Trump presidency is about cabinet makeup, those of us interested in railroading’s fate under the new administration are laser focused on transportation secretary.

I’ve seen a few names mentioned so far. One is James S. Simpson, a trucking company executive and a former Federal Transit Administration head and New Jersey Department of Transportation secretary under Gov. Chris Christie. Another is Mark Rosenker, former head of the National Transportation Safety Board. And then there’s U.S. Rep. John Mica, a Republican who lost his Congressional seat Nov. 8, and a frequent critic and micromanager of Amtrak.

If Trump is successful in moving his plan to invest serious money into infrastructure, the transportation secretary will be a primary gatekeeper. One big concern among those with stakes in transit is that all or the bulk of the money goes to highways. Let’s hope the railroad industry’s lobbyists are working to get their share of the money for both freight and passenger upgrades.

Incidentally, one candidate that I haven’t seen mentioned is former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, a Republican who likes trains and likes Amtrak — or at least he did until 2010 when Scott Walker ran for governor. Walker demonized and derailed plans that his predecessor in office, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, put in place to install Talgo trains on the Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha and to extend the service to the capital in Madison. The drastic turnabout seemed strange for Thompson, who was an appointee of President Clinton to Amtrak’s board and who served as chairman. In the George W. Bush White House, he was Health and Human Services secretary, although he had said that transportation was his first choice.

Maybe deep down Thompson still likes passenger trains. Maybe he sees the need for high-speed rail in the U.S. And, maybe at age 75, he could be coaxed into one more high-level position in government.

One last thought on transportation and Amtrak in the Trump administration: Vice President Joe Biden will be looking for a job this coming January. As a long-time supporter of Amtrak, perhaps he would make a good board member for Wick Moorman’s railroad. I suspect Amtrak will need all the friends it can get after Jan. 20.