Gov. Maura Healey has named MBTA Chief Phil Eng interim transportation secretary, she announced Thursday, ending the embattled tenure of Monica Tibbits-Nutt overseeing the state’s transit agency.
In a press release, Healey said Tibbits-Nutt “has made the decision to step down” from her roles as secretary of the Department of Transportation and chief executive of MassDOT, effective immediately. She has agreed to remain as an adviser through year end, and then plans to return to the private sector, Healey said.
Eng, a New Yorker who came to Boston to run the troubled T in 2023 and has been working to turn it around, will stay in that role while also serving as interim secretary. Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver has been promoted to undersecretary of transportation.
At a press conference Thursday morning, Eng told reporters, “I’m going to treat this as if I’m in the role. I’m not worried about the ‘interim’ tag.” He said his goal is lead the department successfully and that he has no plans to dial back his work at the T: “I intend to stay just as engaged as I’ve been with MBTA.”
The governor, speaking to reporters Thursday, said she’s confident Eng can handle both roles.
“Phil Eng has demonstrated that he’s a terrific manager. He gets it done. The trains are running on time. And a lot has happened because of his leadership,” Healey said.
Healey said she did not ask Tibbits-Nutt to step down: “I congratulate and am grateful to Secretary Tibbits-Nutt for her service” over the past three-and-a-half years, she said, and on Healey’s transition team.
But Tibbits-Nutt’s departure has been rumored for some time, and her public profile has decreased in recent months. Last year, the secretary floated the idea of highway tolls without the governor’s approval, and Healey roundly dismissed the concept. And the bidding process to hire a new highway rest stop vendor recently collapsed after a bruising public fight; the state will now restart the procurement.
Tibbits-Nutt will continue to be paid her $206,496 yearly salary and receive benefits from the state through December, according to an exit agreement she signed Thursday. She also agreed not to disparage the Healey administration and to coordinate how her departure was announced with Healey officials, a copy of the agreement shows.
Sen. Brendan Crighton, a Lynn Democrat who co-chairs the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, said he does not think Tibbits-Nutt misstepped during her tenure as transportation secretary.
“She was a huge help while she was on the board, so I have nothing but respect for her work here,” he told reporters. “We’ve definitely moved the ball forward on a number of things, whether it’s water transportation, means-tested fares or looking to decarbonize our transportation fleet. So I appreciate her service.”
Former transportation secretary Jim Aloisi said he was surprised at the Healey administration’s decision to announce the secretary’s departure without naming a permanent successor.
“It’s not like there was some sense of urgency to the secretary leaving,” he said. Hayes Morrison, who served as undersecretary under Tibbits-Nutt, has left her job and started a new role at Massport two weeks ago, as deputy director of strategy.
Brian Kane, head of the MBTA Advisory Board, noted that Eng has previously worked at the New York Department of Transportation and “has the experience. He knows how to run bridges and roads and highways.”
At the same time, Kane said, having to ask the head of the T to take on a second big job shows how “shallow the bench is in transportation in Massachusetts.”
In a statement, Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA administrator and a Republican challenging Healey in the governor’s race next year, called the bidding process “deeply flawed” and criticized Tibbits-Nutt.
“It is mind boggling why Maura Healey did not demand her resignation after proposing toll increases and the recent service plaza bid debacle,” he said.