WASHINGTON – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who lifted the profile of distracted driving as a national safety concern, is stepping down, presenting President Barack Obama with another Cabinet vacancy at the start of his second term.

The former congressman from Illinois and one of only two Republicans who served in Obama’s Cabinet, LaHood worked for more safety in the air and on the ground and pushed for improvements of roads and bridges. Under his watch, the department demanded better fuel efficiency in vehicles and took steps to address airline pilot fatigue.

Obama, who at one point served with LaHood in the Illinois congressional delegation, said they were “drawn together by a shared belief that those of us in public service owe an allegiance not to party or faction, but to the people we were elected to represent. And Ray has never wavered in that belief.”