Carper Statement on Confirmation of Jeffrey Rosen to Serve as Deputy Secretary of Transportation

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released the following statement after voting against the nomination of Jeffrey Rosen to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT).

“The Deputy Secretary of Transportation is entrusted with a great deal of authority, helping to steer the agency and managing its day-to-day operations. Given the deputy’s ability to influence the agency’s agenda directly, the person in that position should be committed to upholding the basic safeguards that protect consumers and families, both on and off the road.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Rosen has a long history of advocating for the rollback of commonsense regulations that keep Americans healthy and safe. He has not only opposed regulating greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, he has challenged the very science behind climate change. The man seeking to be the second in command at the Department of Transportation has opposed addressing dangerous pollutants emitted from cars and trucks, which are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. transportation sector. As a former governor, I generally believe that executives should be able to pick the members of their leadership teams, but Mr. Rosen’s opposition to such basic protections does not inspire confidence in his ability to serve in this role. For those reasons, I cannot support his nomination.”

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