Amid Toyota Crisis, LaHood Rolls Along

WASHINGTON (March 3) -- Ray LaHood was jabbing the air with his finger, insisting to a roomful of lawmakers that, as Toyota recalled more and more flawed cars from the U.S. market, his department wasn't asleep at the switch.

"We haven't been sitting around on our hands," the U.S. transportation secretary told Congress. "When people complain, we investigate."

To hear LaHood's words and the intensity in his voice, it would be easy to assume he was undergoing the grilling of a lifetime. But when he spoke last week in a Capitol Hill hearing room, the members of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee hadn't even asked him a question, much less criticized his leadership.

LaHood, an Illinois Republican who served in the House for 14 years before joining President Barack Obama's Cabinet, simply knew what the congressmen needed to hear. And more than anything else, it is that familiarity with the ways of Washington -- and the relationships built over eight terms in the House -- that has helped LaHood weather the Toyota storm.

"He very much understands how important it is to communicate clearly and what kind of information the American public needs to have," said Missi Tessier, a public relations specialist and a longtime friend of LaHood's.

LaHood's performance is noteworthy at a time when several members of the Obama Cabinet are struggling to navigate the political thicket of Washington. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been on the ropes almost from the moment he took office, and each of his appearances before Congress brings another batch of withering criticism. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has not fully recovered from her misstep following the attempted Christmas Day bombing, when her assertion that "the system worked" was contradicted repeatedly by the president. And Attorney General Eric Holder has seen his selection of a trial site for alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed torpedoed by political opposition in Congress and New York. Republicans have called on each to resign.

In dealing with the Toyota fallout, LaHood has made his own stumbles, most notably at a congressional hearing last month when he urged Toyota owners to "stop driving" their cars. Company shares plummeted after LaHood's comment, and he retracted it hours later. But when LaHood returned to Capitol Hill for a trio of congressional appearances in the last week, no one was calling for his head.

Instead, he earned congratulations from lawmakers of both parties. "I don't see how anybody could have done a better job during this first year as secretary of transportation," Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., told LaHood before beginning his questioning. A senior Democrat, Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania, called LaHood's performance "courageous," while Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., called his frankness "very refreshing."

"He's given a lot of deference," the top Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. John Mica of Florida, told AOL News. Mica has been a fierce critic of the Obama administration and one of the Republicans calling for Napolitano to step down. The Toyota mess, he said, has "not been as damaging" for LaHood. "Ray has fared well because he has a lot of connections on the Hill."

"We still have his cell phone. He answers it," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said in an interview. Issa, the senior Republican on the House oversight committee and a consistent Obama critic, said it was "undeniable that people treated him better and differently" than other administration officials.

Knowing the Rules of the Game in Washington (and Peoria)

LaHood, 64, is one of two Republicans in the Cabinet. (Defense Secretary Robert Gates is the other.) The grandson of Lebanese immigrants, he served as chief of staff to former Illinois Rep. Robert Michel before winning his boss's seat in 1994 when Michel retired. He gained a measure of national exposure in 1998 by presiding over the House impeachment hearings for President Clinton.

LaHood built a generally moderate voting record in the House, and he worked closely both with Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel when they represented Illinois in Congress.

As transportation secretary, LaHood, who was not made available for an interview, has said safety is his top priority. The centerpiece of his agenda has been a campaign -- actually "a rampage," as he calls it -- against distracted driving, which LaHood has deemed "a menace to society."

His former colleagues say LaHood's take-charge approach and blunt style are the same he has employed throughout his career. Tessier said that when they worked together in Michel's office, LaHood frequently traveled back and forth from Washington to the district in Illinois, and thus had a keen sense of the mood of constituents. When fellow staffers in D.C. came up with an idea that wouldn't fly back home, LaHood would speak up. He would be the one to say, "That won't play in Peoria, not to overuse the phrase," Tessier said. LaHood, of course, could say it with a straight face -- Peoria is where he was born.

As the Toyota recalls have mounted, LaHood has sought to take full responsibility for the government's handling of the issue, even when criticism is being directed elsewhere. Lawmakers have zeroed in on the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration for failing to properly investigate Toyota when problems were first reported with its vehicles. During last week's hearings, several members of Congress wanted to question the new NHTSA administrator, David Strickland, who took office in January.

But LaHood stepped in instead, saying it would be unfair for Strickland to face lawmakers so soon after starting the job.

"If somebody wants to criticize NHTSA or the department, I'll be responsible for that, not somebody else.That's my job," LaHood said at a House hearing on Feb. 24 when he was asked why Strickland wasn't there. "I'm not going to duck it and I'm not going to give it to somebody who's only been on the job 40 days."

The secretary's decision to take the heat for NHTSA "was a high-risk, high-reward strategy," Issa said. "That puts a lot of the direct responsibility for the success or failure on Secretary LaHood."

Strickland did testify Tuesday before the Senate Commerce Committee. He made his appearance with LaHood seated next to him.

Making His Position Heard, and Putting Himself on the Line

LaHood's strategy puts him on the line for Toyota's response. Though he has criticized the company for a "safety-deaf" approach to manufacturing and declared its business model broken, LaHood has taken credit in congressional testimony for getting the company to take the recall crisis more seriously. He told lawmakers that he had spoken directly with Akio Toyoda, the company's president, and impressed upon him the need to respond directly to the American public. After prodding from Congress, Toyoda agreed to testify in Washington last week. LaHood said Tuesday that he thought the company "got the message."

A Toyota spokeswoman, Martha Voss, told AOL News that the company had been able "to establish a productive dialogue and a positive relationship" with LaHood, noting that the secretary had a "cordial and open discussion" with Toyoda last week.

Even as LaHood has gotten a long leash from Congress, Republicans like Issa and Mica said his record is incomplete, and that a lot will ride on the department's long-term response to the Toyota recalls and criticism of NHTSA. And though LaHood has drawn praise for his recent appearances before Congress, some lawmakers have privately complained that his style is overly combative. When LaHood responded loudly to questions from Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. at a hearing last week, Barton laughed. "Now, don't get mad at me, Ray," he told the secretary. Taken aback, LaHood replied: "Just because I raised a little decibel in my voice doesn't mean I'm mad, Mr. Barton."

For now, however, LaHood is spearheading the government's response to the Toyota recalls with a deep reservoir of support in Congress. And he seems to know it, too. When LaHood finally got up to leave last Wednesday after nearly three hours on the hot seat, the former congressman left these ebullient parting words: "It's great to be back!"