On May 14, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a confirmation hearing for several of President Trump’s nominees, including Sean McMaster for Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). McMaster easily fielded questions from committee members, who also used the hearing to talk about the next transportation reauthorization bill, project delays, stalled funding, and environmental issues. On a bipartisan basis, the committee leadership expressed interest and optimism about completing a highway title of a surface reauthorization bill. Notably though, Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) also expressed his concern that the administration’s implementation policies could jeopardize reauthorization of the current surface transportation authorization law next year. 

As part of her opening statement, even before McMaster gave his opening remarks or answered any questions, Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), described the nominee as well-qualified because of his professional background. McMaster was a staff member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee before serving as US DOT’s deputy chief of staff and deputy assistant secretary for congressional affairs. More recently, he has held vice president roles at HNTB and Boeing. Senator Capito said, “One challenge that the FHWA administrator must quickly tackle is the significant backlog of announced grants that do not have signed grant agreements in place. This inherited workload will require diligence and collaboration to resolve.” 

In McMaster’s opening remarks, he twice borrowed one of President’s Trump’s favorite adjectives: “I look forward to working with you to achieve the President’s and Secretary’s vision of building big, beautiful American infrastructure” and “We must work to build and restore the beautiful roads, bridges, and tunnels across the nation.”  

McMaster also referred to a topic that was important to numerous senators. He said, “As the transportation industry is painfully aware, delays in project delivery can delay safety enhancements and drive up project costs.” He added, “We must further streamline project delivery, including the permitting process.” 

Answers to Senator’s Questions 

On numerous occasions, McMaster expressed his willingness to work with the senators, although he offered few policy specifics. For example, when Senator John Boozman (R-AR) asked how US DOT would improve worker safety along highway construction zones, McMaster answered, “You highlight an extremely important issue.” He then said that he looked forward to learning more about the problem and working with Congress to help resolve it.  

Despite the lack of substance in McMaster’s answers, the senators seemed content with his responses. For instance, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) was annoyed that US DOT “terminated grants for seven university transportation centers related to advancing a so-called quote unquote woke agenda.” She asked McMaster if he would work with these institutions to reverse the terminations and allow them to pursue their work under mutually agreeable terms. After McMaster answered that he was not familiar with the justifications for the terminations but would be happy to follow up with her directly, Senator Alsobrooks responded, “Perfect. Thank you so much.”  

Surface Transportation Reauthorization 

Both the committee’s Republican chair and ranking Democrat used the word “bipartisan” in reference to reauthorizing the current surface transportation authorization law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), which is set to expire on September 30, 2026. Senator Capito said the committee “looks forward to working with FHWA and others on the long-term, bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill.” The committee’s ranking member, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said, “I believe Chair Capito and I can continue the good bipartisan work this committee is known for.”  

Senator Whitehouse told McMaster, “The chair and I both intend to deliver to you a robust bipartisan surface transportation.” But, he warned, “The gateway to success, to ultimately passing those bills, is confidence that this administration will faithfully execute the laws we pass and clear the projects we have already approved, appropriated, and obligated.” He said, “This administration has repeatedly unlawfully disrespected congressionally authorized and appropriated spending.” 

Looking directly at McMaster, Whitehouse rhetorically asked, “Do you understand how it would be hard for the minority to agree to a bipartisan bill if the upshot of that agreement was that only the majority’s parts of the bill were actually implemented and everything that we wanted got binned by the executive branch?” Whitehouse told McMaster, “We need assurances that whatever bipartisan legislation we write and gets enacted into law will be implemented by the executive branch in a faithful and unbiased way, and in particular, we need to clear the illegal funding freezes that have jammed up so many already appropriated projects.” 

Streamlining and Environmental Issues 

Several senators referred to streamlining approval processes. For example, Senator Kelly talked about a project that would replace the 22nd Street Bridge in Tucson. He said the current span is in such poor shape that school buses and ambulances will not use it. Although the city of Tucson submitted a draft grant agreement in December, it has been unable to meet with any FHWA officials since. 

Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) said, “I’ve heard from Nebraskans that one reason projects are significantly slowed is that too many agencies are required to take action to approve a single project. Often these approvals are being done consecutively instead of concurrently, adding unnecessary delays to project implementation.” 

Two senators took an opportunity to express their concerns and frustrations about transportation policies related to the environment. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) argued that electric vehicle (EV) mandates are unworkable in her state due to the mountainous terrain, extreme weather, and long-travel distances. Referring to the 450-mile trip from her farm to her ranch, she said, “I can’t get between them on an EV charge. It is just not a practical solution for Wyoming.” Meanwhile, Senator Whitehouse voiced his disappointment that the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula program “remains paused and stuck in limbo.”