DDOT Director Jeff Marootian has a new gig in the Biden Administration

Jeff Marootian, who has served as the District Department of Transportation’s director since 2017, has a new job in the Biden Administration.

A press release put out by President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team names Marootian to a job in the Presidential Personnel Office as Special Assistant to the President for Climate and Science Agency Personnel.

Marootian was named to Biden’s transition team in November shortly after the election as a member of the transition’s 18-person transportation team.

The job won’t be Marootian’s first time working for the feds: before his time at DDOT, he served in President Barack Obama’s administration at the US Department of Transportation.

The Presidential Personnel Office recruits and vets presidential appointees. According to the Post, the office normally has more than 90 employees, but in 2018 the Trump administration staffed it with only about 30 people.

Marootian is a longtime DC resident who attended George Washington University. Duriung his tenure leading DDOT, the agency grappled with the rise of dockless e-scooters; District-wide debates over bicycle and pedestrian safety; and changes in transportation needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to new initiatives like Slow Streets.

“Jeff has been a strong and passionate leader who we know will help our country build back better in his new role,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser in an emailed statement. “During his time at the District Department of Transportation he has worked tirelessly to make our roads and sidewalks safer and more efficient, and to build a transportation network that not only meets our needs today but looks ahead to the future.”

Bowser said her office will make a personnel announcement about DDOT’s leadership soon.