Transportation Under Secretary for Policy Carlos Monje Jr. to Depart

WASHINGTON – Following more than three years at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Under Secretary for Policy Carlos Monje Jr. announced he will depart the agency in April.  

“Since the first day of this administration, Carlos has provided wise counsel and expertise on historic actions to create a stronger, more equitable, more sustainable transportation system–including the development and passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law itself,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.  “Carlos is a great colleague whose intellect, work ethic, humor, and character will be missed – but the culture and team that he helped build will serve us well going forward, and we all wish him the best for the future.” 

Appointed by President Biden in 2021 and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate, Under Secretary Monje helped lead the effort at DOT to conceive and implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the largest investment in our nation’s infrastructure in generations.  BIL contained the first climate title, the first funding program dedicated to stitching back together communities divided by highways, and the largest public transit investment in American history. President Biden’s infrastructure law has funded more than 46,000 projects in every corner of the nation and the Department’s implementation team was recognized by the Partnership for Public Service with a Service to America medal, the highest honor for career civil servants.  Monje led the team that put climate, equity, safety and transformational technology concerns back at the center of DOT’s work.  

“It has been the honor of my career to work with President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg to rebuild not only the infrastructure that keeps our nation moving but also Americans’ faith that democracy can deliver for them,” said Monje. “The world-class public servants at DOT will continue building a better country for all of our children, including my own. I look forward to telling my kids, Sebastian, Leonel and Louisa, stories of their successes in terms of bridges built, freight bottlenecks cleared, and communities connected to opportunity.” 

As the third-ranking official at USDOT, Monje led teams focused on Policy, Research, Aviation and International Affairs, Build America Bureau, Freight, Project Delivery, Technical Assistance, Competition, and BIL Implementation and Innovation.  Monje also served as Assistant Secretary for Policy for the Department under Secretary Anthony Foxx, on two presidential transitions and was Special Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the Domestic Policy Council under President Obama.  

Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Christopher Coes will serve as acting Under Secretary for Policy upon Monje’s departure.  Coes previously served as Vice President for Land Use and Development at Smart Growth America, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, Professor at George Washington University, and Deputy Director and Senior Advisor for the Transportation for America campaign.  Coes has been an architect of major policy initiatives of the Biden term, including the Department’s Strategic Plan, Equity Action Plan, National Roadway Safety Strategy and the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. He has supervised the Department’s premiere multimodal grant programs including MEGA, RAISE, INFRA and Rural. 

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