The Trump administration killed a self-driving car committee -- and didn't tell members

The Trump administration quietly terminated an Obama-era federal committee on automation in transportation earlier this year, the Department of Transportation confirmed to The Verge this week. What's more, the DOT never informed some members that the advisory group didn't exist anymore, including Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, Zipcar founder Robin Chase, Apple vice president Lisa Jackson, and even the committee's own vice chair, The Verge has learned. The committee's dissolution comes at a critical moment in the development of automated vehicles in the United States. During the two-plus years that it sat dormant, multiple companies have rolled out small commercial fleets of automated vehicles that perform a variety of tasks. Big money is pouring into some of the most visible companies in the space.