If you have been following the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) news for a while now, three names might ring as familiar: Raymond Martinez, Jim Mullen, and Wiley Deck. These three were the deputy administrators of the FMCSA during the Trump Administration, for varying amounts of time. With the transition to the Biden Administration, the position changes hands again, this time to Meera Joshi.
Details
Biden named many Department of Transportation appointees during his first full day in office, January 21st. Among these were Pete Buttigieg for Secretary of the DOT and Meera Joshi for Deputy Administrator of the FMCSA.
Meera Joshi graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, followed by obtaining a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1995. Her recent work background most notably includes working for the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) since 2011, where she became the CEO and Commission Chair in 2014 under mayor Bill de Blasio.
The TLC regulates daily passenger transportation within New York City. This is not just for taxis and limousines, but also ridesharing programs such as Uber and Lyft. In total, the TLC oversees 130,000 vehicles and 200,000 different drivers.
One of her top priorities working at the TLC involved policy to make sure rideshare drivers obtained livable wages. Similar work may be done under Joshi for broker transparency in the years to come.
Conclusion
With Meera Joshi taking the wheel as FMCSA Deputy Administrator, the remaining question is what happens to James “Wiley” Deck. He announced via LinkedIn that he is retiring from the public sector.
“Today, I retired from my federal career with 25 years 7 months and 29 days of service to this great nation,” Wiley started in his posting. He ends his statement with gratitude to those who helped him get to his position as Acting Deputy Administrator.
“I thank the American people, Congressman John Mica and Secretary Elaine Chao for giving me this chance. I used my time faithfully and with the goal of helping improve the lives of as many people as possible. Now, I get to see what the rest of life has in store….”
His current plans, whether to work in the private sector or to retire from the workplace altogether, is currently unknown. We wish both Joshi and Deck the best in their pursuits.