President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that the name of the former representative of Wisconsin Sean Duffy as a nominee for secretary of transportation, because he continues to roll out. vote for the Cabinet.
Duffy is a former reality TV star who has become one of Trump’s most visible defenders on cable news — a major concern for the media-focused president-elect. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, was a member of the Financial Services Committee and chairman of the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019, and hosted “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business.
In the announcement, Trump noted that Duffy is married to a Fox News host, calling her “the wife of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR at Fox News.”
Duffy is so far the second television host with Fox to be named by Trump to the Cabinet. Trump last week announced his Fox News host picks Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense.
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Trump said that Duffy will use his experience and relationships built over many years in Congress “to preserve and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and to fulfill our Mission to usher in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. raise A Travel Experience for all Americans!”
Duffy in 2022 declined to run for governor of Wisconsin despite a plea from Trump to bid, saying she had to take care of her nine children, including her youngest, who has a heart condition.
He is a former lumberjack athlete and frequent Fox News contributor. He appeared on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997. He met his wife on the set of MTV’s “Road Rules: All Stars” in 1998.
A reality television background before politics is not unusual in Trump’s world. The former president began his political career after appearing on the reality show, “The Apprentice.”
Duffy, after his time in reality television, worked as a special prosecutor and district attorney of Ashland County. He won election to Congress as part of the tea party wave in 2010.
When he first ran for office, Duffy was widely considered an underdog but drew national attention for his campaign ad, in which he wore a red flannel shirt and chopped trees. He told voters he came from a “line of lumberjacks” and would take an ax to Washington.
He served until his resignation in 2019.
The Department of Transportation oversees the nation’s complex transportation system, including pipelines, railroads, automobiles, trucks, airlines and mass transit systems as well as federal funding for highways.
If confirmed, Duffy will take over at a time of extraordinary change, particularly on the country’s highways. Traffic deaths remain near record highs at a time when new technologies are being introduced that can make the roads safer. Many companies use autonomous and even semi-driverless robotaxis without special federal regulations. And the nascent move from gasoline to electric vehicles presents its own safety problems, especially with battery fire which can be difficult to kill.
The department includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates automakers, including Elon Musk’s Tesla. The department sets fuel economy standards for cars and trucks and regulates the aviation industry through the Federal Aviation Administration, which suffers from a shortage of air traffic controllers to ensure safe and orderly air flow.
Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, said the association was “thrilled” with Duffy’s selection.
“Congressman Duffy has a proven track record of getting things done, and we are eager to work with him on key issues affecting the U.S. aviation industry,” Calio said.
Trump criticized electric vehicles as expensive and unreliable and called President Joe Biden’s policy to promote them “insane.” He also said that manufacturing EVs would destroy the auto industry’s jobs and falsely claimed that battery-powered cars would not work in cold weather and can be used in cold weather can not travel far.
Trump has softened his rhetoric about electric vehicles in recent months after Musk approved and very campaign for his election.
Even so, industry officials expect Trump to try to slow the transition to electric cars, and tax credits for EV purchases are reportedly among the Trump administration’s possible eliminations next year.
Trump, in a statement, said Duffy will “prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and beauty while rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports.” Trump, while campaigning for the White House, would sometimes complain about the state of air travel in particular, lamenting that his “venerable airport” was a “dirty, congested mess.”
Duffy, Trump said Friday, “will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.” DEI refers to the “diversity, equality and inclusion” program.
