Michael Peter Huerta (born November 18, 1956) is an American government official who served as the 17th Administrator of theFederal Aviation Administration from 2013 to 2018.^[1][2] He was also actingU.S. secretary of transportation under PresidentDonald Trump for 11 days in 2017 until the Senate confirmed the appointment ofElaine Chao to the position.

Michael Huerta
17th Administrator of theFederal Aviation Administration
In office December 6, 2011 – January 6, 2018 Acting: December 6, 2011 – January 7, 2013
President	Barack Obama Donald Trump
Deputy	Victoria Wassmer (acting) Daniel Elwell
Preceded by	Randy Babbitt
Succeeded by	Stephen Dickson
United States Secretary of Transportation
Acting
In office January 20, 2017 – January 31, 2017
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Anthony Foxx
Succeeded by	Elaine Chao
Personal details
Born	(1956-11-18)November 18, 1956 (age 68) Riverside,California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of California, Riverside (BA) Princeton University (MPA)

Huerta received his bachelor's degree in political science from theUniversity of California, Riverside and his master's in international relations from theWoodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs atPrinceton University.^{[citation needed]}

Huerta was commissioner ofNew York City's Department of Ports, International Trade and Commerce from 1986 to 1989^{[citation needed]} before leaving to serve as executive director of thePort of San Francisco until 1993.^{[citation needed]} From 1993 to 1998 he held senior positions at theUnited States Department of Transportation inWashington, D.C., serving under secretariesFederico Peña andRodney E. Slater during the administration of PresidentBill Clinton.

Huerta was a managing director with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the2002 Olympic Winter Games,^[3] preparingSalt Lake City's transportation outlets for the Olympics, and organizing the logistics for the Olympic flame for its journey from Athens, Greece to Salt Lake City, Utah.

From 2002 to 2009, Huerta was group president of the Transportation Solutions Group atAffiliated Computer Services, a company later acquired byXerox, specializing in business processes and information technology.^[4]

President Obama nominated Huerta as Deputy Administrator of theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA) on January 26, 2010^[5][6] and became Deputy Administrator of the FAA five months later.^[7]

On December 6, 2011, Huerta became acting administrator of the FAA upon the resignation ofRandy Babbitt.^[8]

On March 27, 2012, President Barack Obama formally nominated him to serve as the next permanent administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for a term of five years; the nomination was subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 1, 2013.^[9][10][11]

From January 20 to 31, 2017, Huerta was briefly the actingsecretary of transportation.

• Appearances onC-SPAN