George Reagle, associate administrator for motor carriers at the Federal Highway Administration, has been reassigned.
He has accepted a new position as senior advisor to Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth Wyckle on safety, trade and other motor carrier issues.
The new head of the Office of Motor Carriers is Julie Anna Cirillo. Cirillo has held a number of positions within the FHWA, including an assignment as Regional Administrator in San Francisco.
When the restructuring of the OMC is completed, Cirillo’s title will become program manager, motor carrier and highway safety. OMC is reorganizing into five “core business areas,” according to the FHWA’s Virginia Miller: planning/environment, infrastructure, operations, federal lands highway, and the combined motor carrier/highway safety category.
Rumors have been swirling in Washington for weeks that Reagle would resign or be reassigned. The rumors were fueled by Reagle’s extended absence from the job. Although a reliable source says Reagle was out due to illness, many in the industry couldn’t help but wonder about the timing. Reagle disappeared shortly after the agency canceled its truck and bus safety summit in early December. The FHWA withdrew from the summit after safety groups complained about not having enough representation at the event.
Reagle apparently has 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.