Report: NTSB director could be leading candidate to replace LaHood

Deborah Hersman

Deborah Hersman has emerged as the leading candidate to replace outgoing Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, says a report from the Wall Street Journal. Hersman, a Democrat, currently heads the National Transportation Safety Board, a post to which she was appointed to by President George W. Bush and reappointed to by President Barack Obama. 

LaHood stepped down last week, and, according to the WSJ article, sources close to the situation say that Hersman looks to be the odds-on favorite to be nominated. 

Hersman has worked as a congressional staffer for both parties and has worked to make the NTSB more independent by fighting for highway safety and hurrying completion of probes into aviation and commercial accidents, says WSJ. 

Neither the White House nor the NTSB have commented.