Ray LaHood

The Honourable Ray LaHood
16th United States Secretary of Transportation
In office January 23, 2009 – July 2, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Thomas J. Barrett John Porcari
Preceded by	Mary Peters
Succeeded by	Anthony Foxx
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 18th district
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Robert Michel
Succeeded by	Aaron Schock
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 72nd district
In office May 1, 1982 – January 11, 1983
Preceded by	Ben Polk
Succeeded by	Bob DeJaegher
Personal details
Born	(1945-12-06) December 6, 1945 (age 78) Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kathy
Children	4, including Darin
Education	Spoon River College Bradley University (BS)
Ray LaHood's voice LaHood testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee on the FY2012 DOT budget Recorded March 8, 2011

Raymond H. LaHood (/ləˈhʊd/ lə-HOOD; born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives (1982–1983) and United States House of Representatives (1995–2009).

In 2015, Seeking Bipartisanship: My Life in Politics, a book by Ray LaHood, coauthored with Frank H. Mackaman of The Dirksen Congressional Center, was published by Cambria Press.

In 2017, LaHood admitted to the FBI that while holding federal office he had accepted a $50,000 payment from a foreign national for personal home repairs, and that he violated federal government ethics by not reporting the payment on his Office of Government Ethics Form 278. In 2019, government prosecutors and LaHood agreed to a Non-Prosecution Agreement that required LaHood to admit responsibility, repay the $50,000 loan and pay a $40,000 fine to the U.S. government.^[1]