Anthony Foxx | |
|---|---|
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| 17thUnited States Secretary of Transportation | |
| In office July 2, 2013 – January 20, 2017 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | John Porcari Victor Mendez |
| Preceded by | Ray LaHood |
| Succeeded by | Elaine Chao |
| 54thMayor of Charlotte | |
| In office December 7, 2009 – July 1, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Pat McCrory |
| Succeeded by | Patsy Kinsey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anthony Renard Foxx (1971-04-30)April 30, 1971 (age 54) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Davidson College (BA) New York University (JD) |
Anthony Renard Foxx (born April 30, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician who served as theUnited States Secretary of Transportation from 2013 to 2017. A member of theDemocratic Party, Foxx had previously served asMayor of Charlotte, North Carolina from 2009 to 2013.[1] First elected to theCharlotte City Council in 2005, his2009 mayoral victory made him the youngest person to serve as Charlotte's mayor, as well as the secondAfrican American to hold the role.[2]
Foxx was nominated to the position of Secretary of Transportation by PresidentBarack Obama in April 2013.[3][4] He went on to be confirmed in a 100–0 vote in June 2013.[5][6] Upon taking office, he became the youngestCabinet secretary serving at the time.[7] After leaving office, Foxx joined rideshare companyLyft as chief policy officer in 2018.[8] Foxx left his role as chief policy officer in October 2021, but continued to serve as an advisor to the company.[9]
He currently serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees ofDavidson College[10]
Foxx was born on April 30, 1971, inCharlotte, North Carolina.[11] He was raised by his mother, Laura Foxx, and his grandparents, James and Mary Foxx,[12] pursued education at Piedmont Open IB Middle School, and graduated fromWest Charlotte High School.[1][13] He graduated fromDavidson College, where he was the first African American student body president,[14] in 1993. Foxx majored in history,[15] and went on to earn aJ.D. fromNew York University School of Law in 1996.[13][15]
After law school, Foxx returned to Charlotte to work for a short time at the Smith, Helms, Mullis, and Moore law firm, and left to become a clerk for JudgeNathaniel R. Jones of theSixth Circuit Court of Appeals inCincinnati. Later he worked for theUnited States Department of Justice and theUnited States House of RepresentativesJudiciary Committee.[13] In 2004, he was thecampaign manager forRepresentativeMel Watt.[14]
In 2001, he returned to Charlotte to work as a businesslitigator forHunton & Williams.[13] While a member of the city council, he retained his position as a litigator at Hunton & Williams, switching to part-time status.[citation needed]
Foxx was first elected to theCharlotte City Council in 2005 to an at-large seat, and was re-elected in 2007. He won election as Charlotte's 54th and youngest mayor in 2009 and was re-elected in 2011; he became the city's first Democratic mayor sinceHarvey Gantt left office in 1987.[citation needed]
Upon becoming mayor, Foxx faced Charlotte's worst recession in more than 80 years. As the nation's second largest financial services center, the city lost more than 25,000 jobs in the recession. Foxx reformed the city's public safety pay plan and developed a demand-driven approach to workforce development that has become a national model.[16] Foxx also announced the creation of more than 4,000 new jobs. 19,000 jobs short of what was lost on his watch. He hosted a series of town hall meetings with unemployed workers, pushed for changes to the city's small business loan program, and pressed White House officials for economic recovery spending measures.[citation needed]
From a transportation perspective, Foxx helped salvage the city's largest single capital project: TheBlue Line Extension, which was threatened by lower than anticipated sales tax revenue.[17]
On April 29, 2013, President Barack Obama announced that he would nominate Foxx to the post of theSecretary of Transportation. On June 27, 2013, theSenate confirmed the nomination by a unanimous vote.[5] Foxx resigned from his elected position as mayor to accept the federal appointment.[18]
Foxx prepared and advocated for the Obama administration's first surface transportation bill, the Grow America Act, in 2014,[19][20] and worked to get its congressional incarnation, the FAST Act, passed.[21] He consolidated the department's financing programs and accelerated permitting policies.[22] Foxx also put forth new rules governing the commercial use of drones,[23] blueprinted a comprehensive national policy on autonomous vehicles,[24] and launched the Department's first Smart City Challenge, engaging more than 70 cities to develop their own strategies to incorporate new technologies into their transportation networks.[25]
Foxx was thedesignated survivor for the2015 State of the Union Address on January 20, 2015.[26][27]
Foxx joinedLyft in October 2018 as the company's chief policy officer.[28] In that role, he advocated for California's Proposition 22, which maintained the independent contractor status of gig workers while also providing, for the first time, a minimum earnings standard for drivers, as well as access to health care, retirement and other benefits previously prohibited by independent contracting laws. The measure left open the question of whether drivers could organize.[29] He stepped down from the chief policy officer role in October 2021, but he remained with Lyft as a senior advisor.[30]
Foxx joined the faculty of theHarvard Kennedy School, Harvard University's school of public policy and government, in September 2023 as Emma Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership.[31] In January 2024, it was announced that Foxx would succeed former Massachusetts governorDeval Patrick as co-director of the Kennedy School'sCenter for Public Leadership. He is set to take over the role in July 2024.[32] On January 1, 2025, he became the Director of the Center for Public Leadership.
Foxx is married to Samara Ryder,[14] who is also an attorney. They have a daughter and a son.[33]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Mayor of Charlotte 2009–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Transportation 2013–2017 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member |
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