Less than six months after being appointed by President Trump, Federal Maritime Commission chairman Louis Sola said he is stepping down.
Sola, who was originally appointed to the international shipping regulator by Trump in 2018, gave no reason for his resignation in a letter posted Tuesday to the agency’s website.
“Serving our nation in this capacity has been the honor of a lifetime,” Sola wrote. “I have had the privilege of helping safeguard the integrity of the U.S. maritime industry, bringing greater transparency to port operations, and overseeing a supply chain that moves more than $5 trillion in goods annually.
“I am sincerely grateful for the trust [President Trump] placed in me and for his steadfast commitment to the America First agenda.”
Sola’s departure comes at an historic inflection point as the Trump administration deploys an array of measures designed to elevate American shipping and shipbuilding. Those measures include controversial port fees and other charges aimed at blunting China’s maritime dominance.
Sola’s resignation is effective June 30.
After Sola’s departure, the five-member agency will comprise Democrats Dan Maffei and Max Vekich, and independent Rebecca Dye, with one vacancy. It is not known who would be appointed as the next chairman.
Sola, an Indiana native and Army veteran, worked in military intelligence and later built a successful mega-yacht brokerage business in Florida. Sola in 2016 mounted an unsuccessful campaign to win a seat in Congress, a controversial election that saw both he and Democratic candidate Frederica Wilson removed from the ballot.
President Joe Biden re-nominated Sola to the agency in 2024.
As chairman, Sola led an FMC investigation into flags of convenience, the sometimes-sketchy commercial vessel registries, which resulted in the de-flagging of 140 sanctioned vessels.
Sola did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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