President Trump Appoints New NHTSA Administrator

President Donald Trump plans to nominate Heidi R. King of California to be administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). King currently serves as the Deputy Administrator of the NHTSA.

King also served the 112th Congress as chief economist for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and also served as a regulatory policy analyst in the White House’s Office of Management and Budget from 1998 to 2000 and again from 2007 to 2011.

King served in research and strategy roles at Telcordia Technologies, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and as an executive at General Electric. She is experienced in traffic safety and emergency response after serving as a California park ranger and as a volunteer emergency medical technician.

“Deputy Administrator King has been a strong voice for vehicle safety as acting head of NHTSA, and I am pleased she will continue to lead the agency in its mission to keep drivers safe,” said Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio). “With distracted and drugged driving on the rise, our nation has seen an unacceptable increase in traffic fatalities in recent years, making clear that NHTSA’s role is as important as ever. I look forward to working with Administrator King to improve the safety of cars on the road today and tomorrow as self-driving technology advances.”