Rumors abound that George Reagle, associate administrator for motor carriers with the Federal Highway Administration, is on his way out.
But a spokesperson at FHWA says he has taken on additional responsibilities and a new title as part of a reorganization.
Reagle has been away from his post for more than four weeks – since shortly after the agency canceled its Safety Summit. While a friend says he has not been well, there are numerous rumors circulating that he is getting ready to resign or will soon be reassigned.
Reagle has apparently made several enemies, including Rep. Frank Wolf, R-VA. Wolf is campaigning to move the Office of Motor Carriers out of the Federal Highway Administration because he believes it is tied too closely to the trucking industry to effectively oversee it.
Virginia Miller, spokeswoman for FHWA, said she didn’t know why Reagle had been away from the office for so long – perhaps because of the holidays, she said – but told RoadStar that Reagle does have a new title as of the new year: associate administrator for motor carriers and highway safety.
“We have reorganized into five core business areas,” Miller said: planning/environment, infrastructure, operations, federal lands highway, and the combined motor carrier/highway safety category.