President Donald Trump has nominated a former chief counsel for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to be the federal agency’s next administrator, according to a White House press release. 

Jonathan Morrison currently works for Apple and previously served as the president of Auto Advisory Services and director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs for the California New Car Dealers Association, according to his LinkedIn page. The page says he’s worked at Apple for the past four years. It does not provide a description of his job role. 

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) President and CEO John Bozzella congratulated Morrison in a press release Wednesday. 

“This is the right background to lead the country’s top traffic safety regulator — someone who understands the agency from the inside and has extensive experience in the automotive and technology industries,” Bozzella says in the release. “Jonathan Morrison knows both sides — and that will be a major asset for the administration’s traffic safety and vehicle technology agenda.”

“We look forward to working with him to elevate and prioritize a partnership with automakers to achieve our shared goals: saving lives, reducing crashes, and deploying the safest vehicles ever.”

Days before Trump took office,  Auto Innovators filed a suit against NHTSA for its recent automatic emergency braking rule. The association said in a press release that it isn’t against the use of widespread implementation of AEB nor does it lack confidence in the technology but it argues the rule isn’t technologically feasible. 

Last month, NHTSA delayed the effective date of its AEB rule to March 20 to give the Trump administration more time to review the mandate.

The Speciality Equipment Market Association (SEMA) also issued a press release welcoming Morrison. 

“Mr. Morrison was a proven leader as the agency’s general counsel,” the release says. “He is highly qualified and an excellent choice to serve as NHTSA administrator. We look forward to working with Jonathan and will share with him the important perspective of the automotive aftermarket industry and that of the nation’s community of automotive enthusiasts.”

The release notes that the industry is at a critical juncture for vehicle technology with the emergence of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). 

“As Mr. Morrison looks to take the reins at NHTSA, we ask that he regard the automotive aftermarket as a resource for understanding how these systems interact with modified vehicles and ways to preserve automotive enthusiasts’ ability to engage in legal racing and off-road use,” the release says. “The aftermarket, after all, gave birth to many of the safety features that are ubiquitous in today’s vehicles; our unparalleled ability to innovate and meet the needs of our customers will offer highly valuable insights to Mr. Morrison and his team for the coming conversations about safety and technology.”

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