The start of the second Trump Presidency, along with a newly Republican-controlled Congress, has led to significant actions in their early weeks that impact businesses in the transportation sector. Congress has begun crafting multiyear bills that could affect businesses that own, operate, or sell on-road vehicles.

New Committee Leadership. Following the 2024 elections, the Senate majority transitioned from Democratic to Republican control, prompting significant changes in congressional dynamics. While the House remained in Republican control, there were substantial shifts in the leadership of the House Committees responsible for overseeing transportation policies due to retirements. Here are the leaders of the committees of jurisdiction:

Senate Commerce, Transportation and Science Committee. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is the new Chair and former chair, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), will serve as Ranking Member of the committee that has jurisdiction over highway safety.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) is the new Chair, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will serve as Ranking Member of the committee that has jurisdiction over construction and maintenance of highways, air pollution, and public bridges.

House Energy and Commerce Committee. Representative Brett Guthrie is the new Chair, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) will serve as Ranking Member of the committee that has jurisdiction over passenger motor vehicle safety, interstate and foreign trade, and anything under the Clean Air Act.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Representatives Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rick Larsen (D-WA) will retain their long-held positions as Chair and Ranking Member of this committee that has jurisdiction over surface transportation policy, construction and improvement of highway and transit facilities, implementation of highway and transit safety programs and research activities, and regulation of commercial motor vehicle operations.

In the House, the committees of jurisdictions also had significant turnover of rank-and-file membership. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has 18 new members, 12 new Republicans and 6 new Democrats. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has 17 new members, 10 new Republicans and 7 new Democrats. This turnover provides new opportunities and potential risks for anyone engaging with these committees.  

Budget Reconciliation and Tax Policies.  The House and Senate Budget Committees have passed Budget Resolutions, the first of the two-step process to craft and pass a Reconciliation bill. The process of passing a Reconciliation bill is a rare path for the Senate to pass a measure with a lower threshold, it only requires a simple majority but has significant restrictions including limiting provisions that increase or decrease revenues. The Resolutions that were recently passed by the committees provide top level numbers for spending and bottom level numbers for raising revenues. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) said he thinks he can find $25 billion in savings to help pay for reconciliation, including imposing a higher fee on vessel tonnage, making electric vehicles pay a fee for road use, and rescinding some spending from the 2021 infrastructure law.

Surface Transportation Reauthorization. Looking ahead, the House and Senate Committees are teeing up the process to craft a multi-year bill that funds highway projects and might address the depleting Highway Trust Fund. Committee leadership in the House are setting up the processes for stakeholder engagement and requests from members of Congress early this year. The Senate is expected to follow suit soon as well.

We will continue to monitor and update on Congressional developments that impact the on-road sector.