What's Ahead for Transportation Policy After the Midterms?
Changes in congressional leadership could affect how lawmakers approach transportation policy after the 2026 midterm elections. Surface transportation and aviation reauthorization, infrastructure funding and safety legislation are among the key issues to watch.
In this episode of "Midterm Minute," Transportation and Infrastructure Policy attorney Kara Fischer examines the legislative priorities and committee makeup changes that could shape Congress' transportation agenda next term.
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Kara L. Fischer: Transportation programs need to be reauthorized every couple of years, so the midterms could have a pretty significant impact on all forms of transportation, including highways, transit, rail, motor vehicles and aviation.
Although the House Transportation Committee passed the surface transportation bill earlier this year, it hasn't passed the full House yet, and the authorizing committees on the Senate side haven't marked up any legislation to date. So, we're expecting any movement on surface transportation reauthorization is likely going to occur next Congress.
Key issue areas are going to include funding levels, including whether to keep funding programs at the historic levels provided by IIJA, the last surface transportation bill; rail safety provisions proposed following the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment; electric vehicles and whether they contribute to the Highway Trust Fund; and permitting reform.
We're also going to have an FAA reauthorization coming up next term, and members are going to be eager to move a number of stand-alone aviation bills that they haven't been able to move this Congress. Key issue areas include the competing ROTOR and ALERT aviation safety bills following the fatal DCA crash last year, BNAC's funding to update air traffic control systems and streamlining certification for advanced air mobility.
Regardless of the outcome of the midterms, we're going to see some significant changes in transportation leadership. In the House, current T&I Chair Sam Graves is retiring, and at the subcommittee level, we'll see new leadership on both sides of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, as current Chair David Rouzer is likely to take over as chair of the full committee and Ranking Member Eleanor Holmes Norton is retiring. Current Aviation Subcommittee Chair Troy Nehls and Railroads and Pipelines Subcommittee Chair Daniel Webster are not running again, so Republicans will have new leadership there as well.
On the Senate side, current ranking member of the EPW Committee Sheldon Whitehouse is going to be moving over to the top Democratic spot on Judiciary, opening up a new leadership role overseeing highways. On the Banking Committee, which covers transit, Ranking Member Tina Smith is retiring, and on the Commerce Committee, Transportation Subcommittee Ranking Member Gary Peters is also retiring.
Given the number of members on both sides of the aisle who are not running again or who may not keep their seat, we expect to see not only leadership changes, but also some pretty significant changes to the membership of all of the authorizing committees on both the House and Senate side, which is definitely going to impact how Congress focuses on and prioritizes transportation in the next term.