WASHINGTON—President Trump will nominate Heidi R. King, deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to be the agency's administrator.
The notice of King's nomination appeared on the White House website late on April 6.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, which formally requested the president to expedite the nomination for a new NHTSA administrator, praised the choice of King for the agency's top job.
“Ms. King's demonstrated commitment to research, innovation and public safety throughout her career positions her well for strong leadership at NHTSA,” the USTMA said in an April 10 statement. “The U.S. tire manufacturing industry looks forward to working with her to advance our shared mission of driver safety.”
An economist and research scientist, King received her undergraduate degree from the University of California-Irvine and her graduate degree from the California Institute of Technology.
Before entering government service, she had research and strategy positions at Telcordia Technologies, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and General Electric, where she was global director of environmental risk. She left GE to join NHTSA in 2016.
King served as a regulatory policy analyst at the Office of Management and Budget from 1998 to 2000 and again from 2007 to 2011. She has been a California park ranger and a volunteer emergency medical technician.