The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a turnover problem—enough to make carriers blush. But where carriers suffer high driver turnover, FMCSA has high administrator turnover.
With President-elect Donald Trump poised to take over federal agencies at the beginning of 2025, another transfer of FMCSA leadership is likely. Here is a background on FMCSA’s last seven administrators, how long their tenures lasted, and where they are today.
See also: Driver retention begins during recruitment
FMCSA’s administrator turnover history
The agency enjoyed stable leadership in its infancy. From 2001 to 2017, FMCSA went through five administrators over 16 years.
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Robin Hutcheson took Joshi’s place as acting administrator that same month. Biden nominated Hutcheson for Senate approval in April 2022. Five months later, Hutcheson became the first Senate-confirmed FMCSA head since Martinez’s departure in 2019.
In January 2024, a year and a half after the confirmation, she departed the agency. Her term lasted 20 months.
Today, Hutcheson operates her own consulting service, Hutcheson Advisory.
Sue Lawless: 6 months, Vinn White: incumbent
Sue Lawless took over as interim agency head to replace Hutcheson in January, moving from her previous position as FMCSA’s executive director and chief safety officer.
In June, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that Lawless would be replaced by Vinn White. Lawless’s term lasted six months.
Today, Lawless again acts as FMCSA’s executive director and chief safety officer, while White remains FMCSA’s current acting administrator.
Who will be the next administrator?
Once Trump returns to the White House in 2025, the Department of Transportation and FMCSA will likely have new leaders.
Who will fill that role—and how long they will last—is still a mystery today.
