Anthony Foxx tries to bridge partisan divide in unglamorous role

Many say Transportation Secretary Antony Foxx, plucked to fill a role some thought he was unqualified for, has largely lived up to the high expectations. But praise only goes so far in Washington.

He has traveled over 296,760 miles during his time as secretary and has visited 43 states and 127 cities.

If you ask him, leading 55,000 federal employees in a department whose budget is three times greater than that of North Carolina is not so much different than his work when he was leading city council meetings as a part-time mayor. The main difference, he jokes, is that you’re not approached by mothers in the grocery store complaining about trash not being picked up.

Transportation secretary is not the most glamorous of Cabinet positions. It doesn’t have the cachet of secretary of state or secretary of defense. When transportation runs smoothly, hardly anyone pays any attention to the transportation leader.

It’s when there are problems that the spotlight turns to the person in charge. In Foxx’s short time in office, he has had to deal with oil train derailments, plane crashes and the near collapse of the highway trust fund that pays for the nation’s roads and bridges.

Many wondered whether Charlotte’s youngest mayor was up for the challenge. In a city like Washington, where political dysfunction is the norm, Foxx has done better than many at bridging the partisan divide.

“I had my concerns about him coming to Washington,” said Bill Shuster, R-Pa., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “He didn’t have an extensive transportation background. What I found out very quickly was being a big city mayor, he’s had to deal with all these bureaucratic red tape government programs.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Anthony Foxx tries to bridge partisan divide in unglamorous role."