She was the Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation until replaced by Vice Admiral Thomas J. Barrett, USCG on March 3, 2007. After Norman Mineta's resignation in July 2006 she served as acting United States Secretary of Transportation from July 7, 2006 to September 30, 2006 when the former Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, Mary Peters, was confirmed by the U.S Senate. Maria Cino was nominated by President George W. Bush as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on April 6, 2005, and confirmed by the United States Senate a month later. Deputy Secretary Cino served as the Department's chief operating officer, responsible for the day-to-day management of DOT's $61.1 billion budget, 10 modal administrations, and approximately 60,000 employees.
U.S. Department of Commerce
During his first term, President Bush appointed Ms. Cino to serve as Assistant Secretary and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this capacity, she managed a worldwide organization responsible for connecting small- and medium-sized businesses with export opportunities and protecting all United States businesses overseas. Ms. Cino's responsibilities included overseeing and distributing an annual budget of $200 million and supervising 1,700 employees at 105 domestic offices and 162 international offices.
Republican Party work
Ms. Cino most recently served as Deputy Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. In this capacity, she was the RNC's top political strategist and chief operating officer, overseeing operations of the Committee during the 2004 election cycle. During the 2000 cycle, Ms. Cino served as the Committee's Deputy Chairman for Political and Congressional Relations, while also serving as the National Political Director for the Bush for President campaign in Austin, Texas. In December 2010, Cino announced that she would be running for Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee with the election in January 2011, however that contest was won by Reince Priebus, chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party. From 1993 to 1997, she served as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the National Republican Congressional Committee, managing the organization's strategy, budget and daily operations. She served as a board member for and made donations to The WISH List, a group seeking to elect pro-choice Republican women. In August 2013, conservative Newsmax magazine named Cino among the "25 most influential women in the GOP".
