A former lobbyist for the nation’s largest trial lawyer industry group, the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) is Obama’s nominee as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Legal Times blog reports:
President Barack Obama will nominate David Strickland as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the White House said late Friday.” Strickland “served as associate director of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America from 1996 to 2001, and registered as a lobbyist for the group for at least some of that time.”
Strickland, who filed documents with Congress as an lobbyist for the years 1999 through 2001, falls well outside of Obama’s two-year ban on lobbyists in his administration. His portfolio during that period included issues related to auto insurance and rental car liability. He also lobbied to stop federal safety regulations from pre-empting state lawsuits over warning devices at railroad crossings.
Strickland’s political donations have been minimal, according to documents from the Federal Election Commission, apparently consisting of just one $500 donation last year to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
