Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Rep. John Mica's chairmanship of T&I is almost over. Photo: ##http://thatsmycongress.com/house/repMicaFL7111.html##That's My Congress##

Rep. John Mica (R-FL) has withdrawn from the running to remain chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He was up against Republican term limits, which specify that no Congressmember can spend more than six years as the highest-ranking member of their party on a committee -- regardless of whether that time is spent as chair of the committee (while their party is in the majority) or as ranking member (when in the minority).

Mica had been in conversations with House Speaker John Boehner about getting a waiver, as Rep. Paul Ryan did, allowing him to stay at the helm of the Budget Committee. But it wasn't looking likely. So Mica did the gentlemanly thing: He pulled out and threw his support to Rep. Bill Shuster, the chair of the Rail Subcommittee, who was also jockeying for the hot seat. Politico reported the news this morning.

"Bill has served in two Subcommittee leadership positions," Mica wrote in his letter to Boehner, "and has both the experience and ability to assume this important position for our Conference."

Streetsblog recently reported on Shuster's record on rail and bike/ped issues.

In his letter, Mica acknowledged that the Republican Conference had recently upheld the decision to withhold all term-limit waivers except for Ryan's, and its decision to continue counting Ranking Member service toward the six-year limit.

Mica says he'll stay on the Transportation Committee, and hopes to take over the chairmanship of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee in two years.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Advocates: The Senate’s Chance to Ensure America’s Public Transit Future Is Now

Congress is in the process of writing America's next big transportation bill — and more than 100 organizations are demanding it deliver for transit.

October 20, 2025

Why Does Female Leadership Break Through the Status Quo?

"This is not a feminist agenda. This is just logic," said one woman in power.

Maybe Monday’s Headlines Drive, Maybe They Walk

Nobody tells you where to go, baby. So what's the difference if a computer's behind the wheel or a person?

October 20, 2025

More Tantrums: Trump DOT Threatens NYC Over Building a Bus Lane (Yes, Really)

The feds threatened to cut city and state funding if New York doesn't halt all work on the 34th Street busway so the FHWA can review the project.

October 17, 2025

Hasta La Vista, Friday’s Headlines

Will the Gateway Project be back? Or will anyone taking a train have to get to da choppa instead?

October 17, 2025

‘Embarrassment’: Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking Still Flawed at Night

Relying solely on vehicle automation for pedestrian detection and collision avoidance is not advised, a new study said.

October 17, 2025
See all posts