Trump administration taps Lyft’s Los Angeles general manager for transportation team
San Francisco — Lyft’s general manager of Los Angeles is trading in his role at the ride-hailing company for a position in the Trump administration, the White House announced Thursday.
If confirmed, Derek Kan, who is also on Amtrak’s board of directors and has been with Lyft for nearly two years, will serve as the under secretary of transportation for policy within the Department of Transportation, according to the White House press office.
Lyft, which criticized the Trump administration earlier this year after the president signed an executive order banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, said in a prepared statement that Kan was a valued member of the company “and we wish him luck in whatever path he chooses.”
This isn’t Kan’s first foray into politics. Earlier in his career he was a policy adviser to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, and chief economist for the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
While many workers in the left-leaning tech industry have sought to distance themselves from the president and his administration, a few have been vocal in their support and involvement with the Trump administration, such as Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.
Twitter: @traceylien
