Sean Duffy: A Democrat Candidate for the Secretary of Transportation, a Bridge to Wisconsin, and an Air Traffic Controller’s Wife
You might know him from: Fox News, where Duffy has been a contributor since 2020. He also spent more than 8 years in Congress as a GOP Representative from his native Wisconsin.
The Department of Transportation includes the Federal Aviation Administration, which is in charge of the nation’s airspace, as well as agencies that regulate the nation’s railroads, and set safety standards for passenger cars, trucks and commercial vehicles.
Republican Sean Duffy was in Congress, and he worked with both parties to replace a bridge between his home state of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
During a confirmation hearing for the Department of Transportation, the relationships that the new bridge helped forge were again brought up.
When he goes to Minnesota to visit his family, he crosses the bridge over which he was born and raised. I would like to continue that type of work should I be confirmed and I’m proud of the bipartisan work we did together.
“Our efforts show that when we work together, we get the job done.” Baldwin introduced Duffy to the committee, saying that they hadn’t always agreed. “But at the end of the day, I am confident that Sean is the right person for this job in this upcoming administration.”
In his confirmation hearings, he said he would reduce the red tape that slows down critical infrastructure projects, thus ensuring funds are spent efficiently. He pledged to bring “tough love” to Boeing as regulators attempt to restore confidence in the airplane maker. And Duffy said he would address the shortage of air traffic controllers, while hiring only “the best and the brightest” for those jobs.
Trump has looked to the ranks of Fox News for many of his cabinet nominees. Most people have less experience on camera than the one who starred on MTV’s “Real World: Boston” in 1997. He and his future wife, a fellow Fox News contributor, starred on the same MTV reality show. A bunch of the couple’s children were at the hearing with Campos-Duffy.
Duffy’s wife had survived a deadly head-on car crash and the road safety has hit close to home for him.
Source: Trump’s Cabinet pick for secretary of transportation is Sean Duffy. Here’s what to know
Senator Andy Kim and the Gateway Program: Are Highway Safety Investigations Objective in the U.S.? When Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was with the Department for Transportation
The outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also had little direct experience in transportation before taking the reins. Under Buttigieg, the department has provided billions of dollars from the infrastructure law to build roads and bridges.
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) asked specifically about funding for the Gateway Program, a multi-billion dollar project to replace a series of crumbling rail tunnels and bridges connecting northern New Jersey to Manhattan.
There are several areas where the Department’s broad mandate intersects with the business interests of Musk, the worlds richest person who poured more than a quarter of a billion dollars into Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign.
Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the DOT, are investigating crashes involving Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance systems. Safety advocates fear that the administration could end the investigations and push for a crash reporting requirement.
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) pressed Duffy on whether he would allow traffic safety investigators to “follow the evidence and operate objectively as part of their investigations?”
When he was in Congress from rural Wisconsin, he voted against funding Amtrak. But he said “this committee has spoken loudly about Amtrak and rail in their home communities.”
His first trip as transportation Secretary would be to the mountain regions of Tennessee and North Carolina, where many small roads and bridges have been damaged by flooding from Hurricane hilde.
“This is an emergency,” Duffy said. “I’ll do everything in the power of the Department for Transportation to move the process forward as quickly as possible so these communities get access and roads that are functional again.”
Bernie Sanders’s Telling Tale of the Economy: Scott Bessent Confirmation Hearing in a Senate Caucus on Tax Cuts
At Thursday’s hearing, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, asked Bessent if he agreed with Biden. Bessent did not reply directly to the question.
In his farewell address on Wednesday evening, President Biden warned “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
According to his personal financial disclosures, Bessent has assets worth at least $500 million. He would become a member of the wealthiest White House ever.
Bessent also fielded questions over many of Trump’s other proposed economic policies. Economists warn that the proposed tariffs could restart inflation.
“We want a tax code that gives everyone in America a chance to get ahead … and there’s a long way to go to get it done,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in his closing remarks.
Democrats repeatedly pressed Bessent over the impact of Trump’s proposed tax cuts on the national deficit and on income inequality in the United States. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, extending the law would increase the debt by more than $4 trillion over the next 10 years.
Source: Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary is Scott Bessent. Here’s what to know
Bessent: A Key Role of the Treasury Secretary for Advising the Senate Finance Committee on Tax Policy and the Future of the Tax Code
Over more than three hours, Bessent calmly fielded questions from Democrats and praise from Republicans. “Your background, your training, everything is tailor-made for this role” was what Sen. Crapo had to say about Bessent’s responses, as well as his underlying qualifications for the job.
Trump overhauled the tax code during his first administration, in 2017. The changes are about to end, which means that he will have an opportunity to re-shape tax policy for many years to come.
Bessent told members of the Senate Finance Committee that this is the most important economic issue of the day. “This is pass-fail. If we don’t fix the tax cuts and don’t extend it, we will face an economic disaster and financial instability that affects the middle and working class.
What does this role do: The Secretary of the Treasury advises on economic policy and the financial system. If confirmed, Bessent will be the lead for implementing Trump’s economic policies.
You might know them from: They’re an investor and hedge fund manager who became one of Donald Trump’s economic advisers after a long career on Wall Street.
