Senate confirms Sean Duffy as transportation secretary

The Senate Tuesday confirmed Sean Duffy, former U.S. Republican Representative from Wisconsin and Fox News host, as head of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Duffy was confirmed by a vote of 77-22.

“Sean Duffy will bring valuable experience and knowledge to the transportation department, and he has a proven track record of working with Republicans and Democrats to deliver good infrastructure for the people we all serve,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday from the Senate floor.

Duffy enjoyed strong praise from both sides of the aisle during the confirmation process. He pledged to trim red tape and advance large infrastructure projects, which he said President Donald Trump named as a priority.

Trump has tapped attorney and Heritage Foundation fellow Steven G. Bradbury as deputy secretary. Bradbury served as DOT’s general counsel during the first Trump administration

Duffy takes the helm of a department that has grown substantially under former President Joe Biden with dozens of new programs as part of the five-year, $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Its budget totals roughly $146.2 billion, including advance IIJA appropriations.

Some of that IIJA money, such as the $7.5 billion electric vehicle charging program, is paused under an executive order signed by Trump last week.

Duffy also takes over as Congress begins to craft the next surface transportation bill which, among other things, could tackle the issue of raising new revenue for the long-ailing Highway Trust Fund.

Duffy, 53, was in Congress for nine years before resigning in 2019, and until November was the host of The Bottom Line on Fox Business. Duffy was the lead sponsor of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act in 2016 to restructure the territory’s debt. After leaving Congress, he was a senior counsel at lobbying firm BGR Group, where he focused on banking, housing, transportation and capital markets, according to the firm.

“President Trump is a builder and a strong supporter of infrastructure, and I look forward to working closely with Secretary Duffy to help carry out the President’s vision for the nation’s transportation network as we begin efforts to craft the next surface transportation bill,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., in a statement.