Gregory D. Cote

Principal Deputy General Counsel

Gregory D. Cote is the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Transportation and serves presently as the Acting General Counsel pursuant to the Vacancies Act. In this role, he manages the Department’s legal team and advises the Secretary and senior leaders on sensitive legal and policy issues arising throughout the Department.

Mr. Cote brings a wealth of experience in agency rulemaking and administrative operations, the legislative process, and the trial and appellate litigation process. Before joining the Department, he served as the Senior Director and Senior Counsel for Regulatory Affairs at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and served as DOT’s Associate General Counsel from 2018 to 2021. Prior to that, he was an attorney in the Boston office of McCarter & English, LLP, first as an associate and then as a partner in the litigation department. He worked his way through school as a paralegal, and earned an A.S. degree from Champlain College, a B.A. from Trinity College of Vermont, and received his law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston. As a New Englander, he is an avid fan of the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, and Celtics.