Waymo taps Senate Commerce staffer for government affairs team

Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Google parent Alphabet, has hired the top policy staffer for the Senate Commerce Committee to lead its government affairs division.

David Quinalty, currently the policy director under committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), will start next month as Waymo’s head of federal policy and government affairs.

Quinalty will direct the company’s dealings with Congress, the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He will report to Waymo’s head of global policy, Tekedra Mawakana.

The move was reported earlier by Politico.

{mosads}”We are thrilled that David will be joining us at Waymo where his deep tech policy expertise will help advance self-driving technology that will improve road safety and save thousands of lives,” Mawakana said in a statement.

Quinalty has worked as a senior Senate Commerce Committee staffer for eight years, focusing on tech and transportation policy.