United States President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Wisconsin Representative Sean Duffy for the role of transportation secretary, the AP reported. This is his latest announcement for his Cabinet picks as Trump gears up for a second and non-consecutive term in the White House.
Duffy is the second Fox-affiliated television host to be named to a Cabinet position in Trump's new White House after Fox News host Pete Hegseth was last week nominated as defence secretary.
While making the announcement on November 18, Trump spoke about Duffy's fit for the role and also mentioned that Duffy is married to a Fox News host and called him “the husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News,” AP noted.
As per Trump, Duffy will “use his experience and relationships built over the years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and fulfil 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!”
In his statement, Trump added that Duffy would “prioritise excellence, competence, competitiveness and beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports” and “will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.”
DEI refers to “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs.
A former reality TV star, Duffy was among one of Trump’s most vocal defenders on cable news ahead of the 2024 US elections.
In his reality TV career, Duffy came from being a lumberjack athlete and frequent contributor to Fox News. He was featured on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997 and met his future wife on the set of MTV’s “Road Rules: All Stars” in 1998.
In terms of government experience, he has served nearly nine years in the House of Representatives from Wisconsin, was part of the Financial Services Committee, and was chairman of the subcommittee on insurance and housing.
Duffy served as a special prosecutor and Ashland County district attorney. He won election to Congress as part of a tea party wave in 2010. When he first ran for office, Duffy was largely considered an underdog but attracted national attention for his campaign ads, wearing a red flannel shirt and chopped trees, as per the report.
He left Congress in 2019 and is now co-host of a show on Fox Business, "The Bottom Line.”
In 2022, he said he had no plans to re-run for Wisconsin governor, despite Trump pushing for his bid, stating he “needed time to care for the needs of his family of nine children”. He also posted on social media that his youngest child had a heart condition, the report added.
The Transportation Department oversees the country's complex transportation system, including pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks and transit systems, in addition to federal funding for highways.
If confirmed, Duffy would take over the department at a time of tremendous change, especially on the nation’s highways. Traffic deaths remain near record highs at a time when new technologies are being introduced that could help make the roads safer.
Multiple companies are deploying autonomous robotaxis and even driverless semis with no specific federal regulations. And the nascent move from gasoline to electric vehicles presents safety problems of its own, especially with battery fires that can be difficult to extinguish.
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 airline industry through the Federal Aviation Administration, one of its agencies.
(With inputs from AP)
