November 19, 2024
By Lane Kimble
President-elect Donald Trump aims to focus on building roads, bridges, and airports during his second administration and he believes a former Wisconsin Congressman is the man to lead that charge.
Trump announced Sean Duffy as his pick for Transportation Secretary late Monday afternoon.
Duffy served five terms as Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District representative from 2011-2019, covering most of the northern-third of the state. He previously served as Ashland County district attorney from 2002-2010.
“As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Sean played a key role in shaping and strengthening Economic policies, and ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Government programs,” Trump said in a news release. “Sean’s leadership extended to championing the needs of families, farmers, and small businesses, especially in rural communities.”
Since resigning from Congress in 2019 to care for his family, Duffy, 53, has appeared on television in various roles, where he currently is a co-host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business channel.
Duffy responded to Trump’s nomination with a thankful tweet late Monday.
Reaction from industry experts was largely positive this week, with many noting transportation often transcends political divides.
“While in Congress, Rep. Duffy worked on a number of transportation issues important to his state and region,” ARTBA President and CEO Dave Bauer said. “In many of his public statements and actions, he reaffirmed the effectiveness of bipartisanship to ensure continued federal investments, and getting projects done.”
Duffy, if approved by the Senate, would replace President Biden’s transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“As a former member of Congress, Sean Duffy understands how to navigate the political landscape in Washington to get things done, something that we will need in the next leader of the U.S. Department of Transportation as we begin the process of reauthorizing the federal surface transportation programs,” said Jim Tymon, AASHTO executive director.
Duffy has nine children and is married to Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy.
“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. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans,” Trump wrote.
As noted by ARTBA, some significant transportation-related moments in Duffy’s political career included:
- Successfully co-sponsoring 2012 legislation with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and others to move forward on construction of the new St. Croix River Bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The measure prevented the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act from being used to block federal-aid funding earmarked for the project, which was completed in 2017.
- Voting for the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” (MAP-21) surface transportation reauthorization legislation in 2012, which passed the House 373-52.
- Signing a February 2015 letter to House leaders, in which 285 members of both parties urged development of “a long-term sustainable revenue source for our nation’s transportation network as soon as possible,” while seeking to reauthorize MAP-21.
- Although co-sponsoring legislation to reauthorize the federal highway and public transportation programs in early 2015, Duffy was one of 65 House Republicans voting against the final product, which passed that chamber 359-65 and became law in December of that year.
