Sean McMaster (above) laid out key priorities for the Federal Highway Administration at his nomination hearing to be the agency’s administrator before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee on May 14.
[Above photo via the Senate EPA Committee]
The hearing featured three Trump administration nominees: McMaster; John Busterud, nominee for assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste at the Environmental Protection Agency; and Adam Telle, nominee for assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
In his written testimony, McMaster – recently an executive with the Boeing aerospace company and a former vice president with infrastructure consulting firm HNTB – stressed that safety would be his top priority at FHWA as he seeks to guide the agency in its mission to build and restore roads, bridges, and tunnels across the nation.
“As the transportation industry is painfully aware, delays in project delivery can delay safety enhancements and drive up project costs,” he said. “Data from FHWA’s National Highway Construction Cost Index shows that transportation construction costs have increased from 1.91 in March 2021 to 3.19 in March 2024; a 67 percent increase.”
McMaster – who also previously served as deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for Congressional affairs from 2017 to 2019 – noted that he witnessed “first-hand the impacts to cost, schedule, and delivery of essential infrastructure projects during my time at HNTB working directly with state and local leaders as they were challenged to identify and attain federal funding in time to support their critical transportation infrastructure needs.”
That is why he believes “it is essential that we build projects more quickly and efficiently.”
In addition to that work, McMaster said FHWA must also look forward as the current surface transportation authorization, contained within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA of 2021, is set to expire at the end of September 2026.
“Surface reauthorization is vital for maintaining and enhancing the safety of our nation’s roads, bridges, and tunnels,” he stressed. “It provides U.S. transportation infrastructure with policy direction and consistent multi-year funding. While I served as deputy chief of staff at USDOT, I was fortunate to lead the development of its surface reauthorization proposal that included FHWA. Through this work I met with key stakeholders of FHWA to understand the needs and impacts of the reauthorization on our states and local communities.”
McMaster emphasized that, if confirmed as FHWA administrator, he will also work to “maintain strong partnerships” with state departments of transportation nationwide as they “have a unique understanding” of specific regional transportation infrastructure needs.
“If confirmed, I will continue to support those critical partnerships and work to ensure that states receive consistent guidance and support from FHWA,” he added.
Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said he is heartened to see such a “strong transportation leader” like McMaster nominated for the vital position of FHWA administrator.
“His previous roles have equipped him with extensive transportation experience as well as a solid understanding of FHWA’s crucial partnership with state DOTs,” Tymon noted. “This long-standing federal-state partnership—established by the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 and supported by stable, formula-based funding—remains key to achieving the safety, mobility, and innovation goals set by USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy.”
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