President-elect Donald Trump named Sean Duffy as his choice to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation. Duffy is a former U.S. Congressman from Wisconsin, and he is the second selection plucked from Fox News.
Former Congressman and reality TV show star Sean Duffy is Donald Trump’s nominee for Transportation Secretary.
“I’m eager to help you usher in a new golden age of transportation,” Duffy wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, over the announcement of his nomination. He got the job over former Uber executive Emil Michael, who said it was “an honor of a lifetime” to be considered for the job.
Aside from their political party affiliation, the now former Fox Business host shares another thing with Trump — he too is a former reality television show star. He was part of the cast of MTV’s The Real World, which placed several young men and women in a house to see just what would happen when things “got real.”
Duffy married one of his castmates, Rachel Campos-Duffy, from the series. She is also a Fox news host. Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth is Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Defense.
Real world experience?
If confirmed, Duffy will be crossing paths with another Trump adviser, Elon Musk.
Duffy has no formal experience in any part of the transportation industry. He is a lawyer who later was elected district attorney in Ashland, Wisconsin. After being elected three times to the post, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Duffy was re-elected four times before resigning to help take care of his then-infant daughter who was born with Down Syndrome.
During his tenure in Congress, he was a member of the House Financial Services Committee, and was an outspoken advocate for “Fiscal Responsibility, Economic Growth, and Rural Development,” Trump said.
The President-elect also noted Duffy would use his experience in Congress “to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”
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Big issues
Electric vehicles will be near the top of Duffy’s agenda once the Trump administration takes office in late January.
Although he has no formal experience in the transportation industry, he is familiar with how the U.S. government works. He’ll need that as he looks to deal with a number of issues facing the Dept. of Transportation and its $110 billion budget.
First he’ll need to deal with carrying out Trump’s wishes to eliminate several Biden administration policies, including the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit and rolling back emissions mandates requiring a 50% cut from 2026 limits by 2032.
Additionally, he’ll need to tackle other issues, such as rebuilding the country’s aging infrastructure (i.e. bridges, roads, etc.), updating the rail system, as well as maintaining oversight of Boeing to shore up its safety issues.
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