Two fiscal-minded policy experts have been appointed to replace outgoing safety experts as federal representatives on the board of the D.C. Metro system — a move that suggests the Trump administration may be looking to institute further financial changes at the budget-challenged transit agency.
Both have extensive experience in the federal government. Horner is a former deputy assistant secretary in the Transportation Department and former chief counsel at the Federal Transit Administration. According to the statement from the department, he “has acted as counsel on multiple landmark public-private partnership projects, including the development of the FTA’s Public-Private Partnership Pilot Program that serves as a model for similar programs today.”
McMillin served for three years as deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, where he was responsible for “leading the development and execution of the federal government budget.”
“During this critical time for [Metro], we are pleased that these two distinguished and experienced individuals … have agreed to serve on behalf of the Federal government to help improve the performance and reliability of this vital transit system in the nation’s capital,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in a statement.
The pair are replacing Carol Carmody, a former vice-chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and David Strickland, a former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those two outgoing members on the 16-person board of directors were informed Friday that they would not be serving out the remainder of their terms on the governing body.
Strickland and Carmody were among a trio appointed by former Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to address urgent safety concerns. Strickland was relieved one year into his three year term, while Carmody had three years remaining on a four-year appointment.
Was that enough time to usher in the safety improvements they were appointed to make?
“You don’t put out a mission accomplished flag on safety ever,” Strickland said Monday in an interview. “You could always be better. … I don’t think anyone would say that it’s where we ultimately want the system to be, but we took a large step forward over the past year with the SafeTrack,” he added, of Metro’s yearlong track rehabilitation program.
Strickland recalled that around the time of his appointment, he and Carmody met with Foxx to discuss their responsibilities.
“[Foxx] voiced that he really wanted a heightened priority on safety and it was his hope that we would be mindful of those issues concerning the safety of the system,” he said.
Kathryn Thomson, who was appointed by Foxx to serve as his special adviser on Metro, voiced concerns about Chao’s decision to bring in new federal members on the board.
“Replacing Carmody on #WMATA board is a huge mistake if safety is a priority for @USDOT,” Thomson tweeted Monday.
McMillin and Horner will begin in their new roles immediately, in time for a meeting of the Metro board scheduled for Thursday.
In an interview Monday afternoon, McMillin said the state of the system’s finances — and its financial trajectory — will be an area of focus when he takes office.
“I would think that early on, I’m going to focus on the areas I’m most comfortable with and that is in the area of looking at the financial outlook for the agency,” he said.
McMillin highlighted the issue of the The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, which helps provide Metro with $150 million in federal funding each year, and is set to expire after 2018.
Among McMillin’s priorities, he said, will be assessing whether the program needs to be reauthorized. Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld and regional transportation officials have advocated aggressively for the funding to remain intact.
“Obviously, that’s a significant component of the funding picture for and it’s something that’s been identified as a something that’s going to be coming across Congress’s radar here in the relatively near future,” he said. “That’s a significant piece of the puzzle that is currently on the federal government’s plate, as opposed to some of the things that the other jurisdictions are trying to weigh and assess.”
McMillin described his area of expertise as “all things government finances, appropriations, tax policy.”
He said he had been in off-and-on conversations with Department of Transportation officials, but “relatively recently” began engaging in serious talks about assuming the board role.
And while he was eager to begin weighing in on Metro issues, and to represent the position of the administration, he said he would not make any presumptions about Metro’s challenges early on.
“I’m certainly not going in there thinking I know the answers better that the people who have been up to their elbows in this for months and many years in cases,” he said. “I want to get to know the leadership of the agency and my fellow board members and learn from them about how they’ve been approaching things.”
McMillin, a Northern Virginia resident who rides Metro occasionally to go to meetings or ballgames, said he was supporter of the transit system.
“It’s an important option for people to get around in this area,” he said. “It’s something I know friends and neighbors and people from out of town rely on. I want the system to be something that this community can be proud of.”
Jeff Marschner, deputy chief of staff for Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), said Monday that Comstock views the appointment of McMillin and Horner as part of Chao’s effort to “professionalize” the board — an effort that she supports.
“The Congresswoman looks forward to continue working with the Secretary and regional leaders on further Metro reforms,” Marschner said.
Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans said that, while he hadn’t met either appointee personally, he was excited to find roles for them on the board. With Carmody’s departure, the safety committee chairmanship is vacant, he said, and either appointee would be a good fit on the finance committee, Evans said.
“I always welcome getting new people in, and frankly if they’re both financial people they should have no trouble understanding the situation of Metro financially,” he said. “Number one, the feds don’t contribute as they should on the operating side since we carry 42 percent of the federal workforce every day.”
Secondly, he said, the PRIIA program — the $150 million in annual funding that will expire in 2018, and will be assessed by McMillin — should be renewed.
“I think what he’ll see is not only is it necessary to reauthorize it but it should be doubled,” Evans said.
Even with the addition of two Trump appointees, Evans said he wasn’t worried about any potential partisan splits. In his experience, the board’s multi-jurisdictional structure incites more debate than party loyalties.
“My issues aren’t Democrats, Republicans; my issues are Maryland, Virginia, D.C. and the feds,” Evans said.