By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves confirms he has had
talks with the Trump transition team about the possibility of serving as
Transportation Secretary in the second Trump administration.
Graves, a Republican, is chair of the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee.
An article by Politico names Graves as a possible
Transportation Secretary. Graves says he is talking with Trump’s people.
“I have been talking to Trump’s transition team and they have
informed me that they’ve got me on a short list for that,” Graves tells
KFEQ/St. Joseph Post in a phone interview. “I’m obviously taking a very hard
look at it and (we’ll) see what happens. But it is certainly something that is
very intriguing to me.”
Republican Caucus rules would prohibit Graves from continuing
to serve as House Transportation Committee chair in the next term of Congress
unless he is granted a waiver. And that is contingent of course on Republicans
holding on to the majority in the United States House.
Graves says the next Transportation Secretary needs to
concentrate on physical infrastructure.
“That is roads and bridges and airports and pipelines and
ports and not do all of these things that are about a green agenda or about
woke policies or quota policies, whatever the case may be,” Graves says. “We
need to concentrate on traditional infrastructure and that’s what’s going to be
the challenge is unwinding so many of those things that happened in the
Biden-Harris administration.”
Grave has been critical of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure
bill signed into law by President Biden in late 2021, saying it became partisan
as it grew too large, authorizing spending outside what is considered
traditional infrastructure projects.
Graves says he is open to becoming part of a second Trump
administration, but emphasizes all discussions are in the early stages.
“It’s just preliminary at this point,” according to Graves. “They’re
just feeling me out on policy and what I would do and the things I would like
to see changed. It’s just preliminary at this point to be quite honest with
you.”
Graves won his 13th term in Congress on Tuesday. He
is the dean of the Missouri Congressional delegation.
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