President Trump has nominated Florida’s former Secretary of Commerce and the head of that state’s public-private investment program to fill the pair of commissioner vacancies at the Federal Maritime Commission.
Laura DiBella, currently a government affairs advisor with Tallahassee law firm Adams and Reese, was nominated to succeed former FMC Chairman Louis Sola for a term expiring June 30, 2028.
Also nominated was attorney Robert Harvey, president and executive director of the Florida Opportunity Fund, to succeed Carl Bentzel for a term expiring June 30, 2029. Bentzel was named president of the National Association of Waterfront Employers following the completion of his term in December, 2024.
The FMC, which regulates U.S. ocean shipping, is in the spotlight as the Trump administration has made the revitalization of the American maritime sector a top priority.
“I congratulate Laura DiBella and Bob Harvey on their nominations to the Federal Maritime Commission,” said former FMC Chairman and Florida native Louis E. Sola, in a text to FreightWaves. “As proud Floridians, they bring valuable experience in ports, trade, and economic development. Their leadership will be a tremendous asset as the FMC continues its work to support U.S. exporters, strengthen supply chains, and advance America’s maritime future. They will keep up that good work and America First policy.”
DiBella became Florida’s first female Commerce Secretary after she was nominated by the board of directors of Enterprise Florida, a nomination that was announced and supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis. She joined the law firm in early 2024. Prior to her work with the state, DiBella served as executive director of the Florida Harbor Pilots Association, and before that was director of Florida’s Port of Fernandina.
Harvey also worked as executive director of the Florida Development Finance Corporation, which provides funding to promote businesses in the state, and since 2015 was a member of the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission, serving as chair from 2019-2023.
The nominations now move to the Senate for confirmation hearings.
The five-member FMC has been without a chairman since the term-limited Sola departed in June. He expects Harvey to succeed him as chair as he was given the longer term.
Current FMC commissioners are Republican Rebecca Dye, nominated by President George W. Bush in 2002; Daniel Maffei, nominated by President Barack Obama in 2016; and Max Vekich, a former longshoreman nominated by President Joseph Biden in 2021.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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