Metro CEO Phil Washington Named To Biden Transition Team

President-elect Joe Biden has named L.A. Metro CEO Phil Washington as the Team Lead for the transition’s Agency Review Team in charge of the Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), and the Federal Maritime Commission.

Phil Washington has been the CEO of Metro since 2015. He was recruited to Metro while heading the Denver Regional Transportation District. At Metro he has been a steady hand at the helm of Metro’s growth into a seven billion dollar per year transportation agency serving the most populous county in the United States. Washington initially managed the passage of the agency’s 2016 Measure M sales tax. He oversees Metro’s ambitious construction portfolio, which includes numerous multi-billion-dollar rail and highway projects. Southern California livability advocates have praised Washington for expanding rail transit, championing generational investment in infrastructure, advancing affordable transit-oriented development, and fostering equity. He has come under some criticism for failing to stem declining Metro’s transit ridership, supporting highway expansion, and steering some mega-projects that are experiencing serious delays – prominently including the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line, a project that began construction just prior to Washington’s arrival.

Find a longer Washington biography at the Metro website.

Per the Biden-Harris Transition website, the teams “are responsible for understanding the operations of each agency, ensuring a smooth transfer of power, and preparing for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris and their cabinet to hit the ground running on Day One. These teams are composed of highly experienced and talented professionals with deep backgrounds in crucial policy areas across the federal government. The teams have been crafted to ensure they not only reflect the values and priorities of the incoming administration, but reflect the diversity of perspectives crucial for addressing America’s most urgent and complex challenges.”

Below is the full Department of Transportation Agency Review Team from the transition website. Included are some links to Streetsblog coverage of several team members. See also a transition team quick take at Streetsblog New York City.

• Phillip Washington, Team Lead – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Dave Barnett – United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters of the US and Canada
• Austin Brown – University of California, Davis
• David Cameron – International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• Florence Chen – Generate
• Brendan Danaher – Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO
• Paul Kincaid – The Association of Former Members of Congress
• Gabe Klein – Cityfi
• Jeff Marootian – District Department of Transportation (Washington, D.C.)
• Therese McMillan – Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco)
• Brad Mims – Conference of Minority Transportation Officials
• Robert Molofsky – Self-employed
• Patty Monahan – California Energy Commission
• Mario Rodriguez – Indianapolis Airport Authority
• Mike Rodriguez – Texas A&M University System (Retired)
• Nairi Tashjian Hourdajian – Figma
• Polly Trottenberg – New York City, Department of Transportation
• Vinn White – State of New Jersey