Healey says she ‘absolutely’ has confidence in Phil Eng’s leadership

Governor Maura Healey said she supports her interim secretary of transportation, Phil Eng, Saturday after revelations that he pulled an employee’s hair two years ago.

Read more Fatal Missouri skydiving plane crash renews concerns about safety loophole

When asked by a Globe reporter if she had confidence in Eng’s leadership, she said, “Absolutely.”

She did not take additional questions.

An MBTA spokesperson previously described the hair-pulling incident involving an employee as an “insensitive interaction” that occurred while saying goodbye after an agency team dinner in 2024. Eng on Friday also acknowledged that the actions were “insensitive.”

Eng, the general manager of the MBTA and the state’s interim transportation secretary, said earlier this week that the dinner in November 2024 was a “team-building exercise at a restaurant” with the MBTA’s executive team and their spouses.

He told the Globe Friday that he “apologized for” the incident.

“The incident that happened two years ago is something that I’ve apologized for,” he said outside South Station. “I understand now, in hindsight, that it was insensitive.”

Read more Small spaces, big dreams: How the World Cup is spawning ‘mini-pitches’ across New England

The MBTA spokesperson previously said Eng had an “insensitive interaction with one of his direct reports” and apologized. Officials at the agency said multiple employees had been talking about hair earlier at the event, and in pulling the employee’s hair, Eng was poking fun at his baldness.

Eng did not name the employee but said he apologized “shortly after” the incident.

“It was brought to my attention several days later,” he said.

MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said any claims of harassment, discrimination, or retaliatory behavior are “completely without merit.”

Read more Secret vetting and blocked promotions: Inside Hegseth’s war on diversity in US military

Material from previous Globe coverage was used in this report.