Trump taps Sean Duffy for transportation secretary

President-elect Donald Trump has been making cabinet appointments with lightning speed, and the latest bolt struck close to home as the president-elect has nominated former Northwoods U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy to serve as his next transportation secretary.

Duffy served as congressman for much of northern Wisconsin between 2011 and his resignation in 2019, and he was a fixture at many town hall meetings in Oneida County and Minocqua.

After Trump’s announcement, Duffy thanked the president and said he was eager to help Trump “usher in a new golden age of transportation.”

For his part, Trump said Duffy would “greatly elevate the travel experience for all Americans.”

“Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years 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,” Trump said in making the announcement.

Trump said Duffy has had a distinguished and popular career as a public servant, starting his career as a district attorney for Ashland, and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

“During his time in Congress, Sean was a respected voice and communicator in the Republican Conference, advocating for fiscal responsibility, economic growth, and rural development,” the president said. “Admired across the aisle, Sean worked with Democrats to clear extensive legislative hurdles to build the largest road and bridge project in Minnesota history.”

As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Trump said Duffy played a key role in shaping and strengthening economic policies, and ensuring transparency and accountability in government programs. 

“Sean’s leadership extended to championing the needs of families, farmers, and small businesses, especially in rural communities,” he said.

Trump said Duffy would prioritize excellence, competence, competitiveness, and beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports. 

“He will ensure our ports and dams serve our economy without compromising our national security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers,” he said. “The husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a star on Fox News, and the father of nine incredible children, Sean knows how important it is for families to be able to travel safely, and with peace of mind.”

Current U.S. House member Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wisconsin) kicked off a chorus of support for Duffy’s nomination.

“I’m thrilled to see my fellow Wisconsinite and friend, Sean Duffy, nominated by President-elect Trump to be our next secretary of transportation,” Fitzgerald said. “Sean is a man of integrity and will bring common-sense Wisconsin leadership that our country sorely needs right now.”

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin) also praised the choice.

“President Trump made a fantastic selection with his nomination of Sean Duffy to serve as the next secretary of transportation,” Van Orden said. “I have known Sean personally prior to my congressional service at our cafe in Butternut while he was representing Wisconsin’s Seventh Congressional District.”

Duffy is well-qualified for the job, Van Orden said.

“Sean is a strong advocate for Wisconsinites and the American people, knows roads are not racist, and will bring the level of leadership needed at DOT to execute President Trump’s vision for rebuilding our bridges, highways, waterways, and more,” he said. “I wish him great success in this new role and am looking forward to working with him to make our nation’s infrastructure strong again.”

Transportation industry executives were likewise thrilled by the announcement. American Trucking Associations president and CEO Chris Spear said Duffy was well acquainted with transportation issues.

“During his time in the House, Sean Duffy was focused on issues facing our industry and supported pro-trucking policies to strengthen the supply chain and our ability to keep the nation’s goods moving safely and efficiently,” Spear said. “Roads and bridges are our shop floor. We know Congressman Duffy understands that and the opportunity now before us to improve our transportation network by reducing congestion, investing in truck parking, enhancing highway safety and supporting the development of innovative technologies.”

Environmentalists, however, were not happy with the selection.

“The Department of Transportation focuses on providing the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods, helping to manage and upgrade everything from pipelines to the air traffic control system,” Shruti Vaidyanathan, director of transportation advocacy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said. “With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, the department has made unprecedented investments in public transport, electric vehicle charging stations, and biking and sidewalks and bike lanes. With his rhetoric on TV against electric vehicles, Duffy has positioned himself against the transition to a cleaner, safer transportation system.”

But such a system is what is really needed, Vaidyanathan said.

“If, as President Trump said, there will be a Golden Age of Travel, we need the cars, trucks and buses on our roads to stop harming our children’s lungs and accelerating climate change,” she said. “And we need to give people access to the transportation options that best suit their lifestyles.”

Financial watchdog

As Trump said, during his time in Congress, Duffy served on the Committee on Financial Services, where he became a vocal critic of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s brainchild, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

As chairman of the House Financial Services Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, Duffy said the structure of the CFPB was unconstitutional.

“The ruling that the CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional should come as a surprise only to those who put their faith blindly in government,” Duffy said after an appeals court agreed. “Ironically, the court’s finding that the CFPB isn’t sufficiently answerable to the president completely ignores its unaccountability to the American people and their representatives in Congress, who have no say over the bureau’s funding.”

Worse than its unconstitutional and unaccountable structure, Duffy said, was its failure to protect consumers. The congressman pointed to the bureau’s botched handling of a Wells Fargo investigation. 

“Congress should respond to today’s ruling by passing the Financial CHOICE Act to convert the CFPB into a bipartisan commission, subject to congressional appropriations, with a mission focused on protecting Americans while promoting financial opportunity for all,” he said.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.