Dive Brief:
- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s top attorney, Brian Stansbury, has been promoted to deputy counsel at the Department of Transportation after less than a year at the trucking regulator.
- Stansbury, who was appointed as FMCSA chief counsel last July, left the agency on Friday, FMCSA spokesperson Cicely Waters told Trucking Dive in an email Monday.
- FMCSA Deputy Chief Counsel Charles Fromm has been promoted to lead the agency’s legal teams and advise senior staff on policy as acting chief counsel, Waters said.
Dive Insight:
The chief counsel’s departure leaves one fewer familiar face in FMCSA leadership as the trucking industry awaits rules on speed limiters and other key issues. Acting Deputy Administrator Sue Lawless and Director of Governmental Affairs Brenna Marron were the only other two listed on the agency’s leadership page, as of Monday.
Stansbury’s departure, however, demonstrates the recent turnover at the FMCSA hasn’t necessarily been all bad.
He and other agency talent have stepped into higher ranking roles in the Department of Transportation, where they can use their trucking industry knowledge gained at the FMCSA.
Kala Wright, former director of external affairs, was named director of public engagement and senior adviser in the office of Secretary Pete Buttigieg in January.
Stansbury previously worked as partner at King and Spalding LLP, where he served on the firm’s environmental, health and safety practice, according to his FMCSA online biography.
Fromm has worked at the FMCSA for 17 years, joining in April 2007 as assistant chief counsel for enforcement and litigation, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been deputy chief counsel since March 2012.
