Confirmation Hearing Preview: Secretary of Transportation Nominee Sean Duffy on the Docket

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Patrick Duffy, will go through his confirmation paces on Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is Chairman of the committee and will lead the proceedings, along with ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). 

Duffy, 53, was a district attorney in Ashland County, Wisconsin, and specialized in prosecuting child sex and internet sex crimes. Duffy ran for Congress in Wisconsin on the 2010 Tea Party wave and won the District 7 seat. Duffy was in the House from 2011 to 2019, where he was chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and served on the House Financial Services Committee. After Duffy left Congress, he became a Fox News contributor. He co-hosts Fox Business’ “The Bottom Line” with Dagen McDowell and hosts a podcast with his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy called “From the Kitchen Table.”

Sean Duffy is a devout Catholic. He’s married to a beautiful wife. They have a lot of kids. He’ll be replacing Pete Buttigieg.

Savor. pic.twitter.com/pevbyQsInX

— A Milwaukee Catholic (@CCityCatholic) November 19, 2024

As Secretary of Transportation, Duffy will be tasked with ensuring the planes stay in the air, the trains stay on the track, the highways remain accessible, and our bridges and waterways are protected. Considering the performance of the last administration’s Secretary of Transportation, it’s a very low hurdle to jump. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg‘s stated qualifications were that he liked trains, and he spent the first several months of his tenure on maternity leave before the litany of failures from East Palestine, Ohio, to airline delays and FAA outages, to Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge wreck. So, if any Democrat senators on the Commerce Committee wish to challenge Duffy’s qualifications, they have absolutely no leg on which to stand.

Duffy has had quite a substantial life and career trajectory. The 10th of 11 siblings, his family was in the lumber business. Duffy parlayed his skills and training as a performer in lumberjack shows and exhibitions around the country. This is how Duffy paid his way through law school. Duffy became a nationally recognized professional lumberjack athlete as well as a color commentator for ESPN’s “Great Outdoor Games.” Duffy has appeared on two reality TV shows: “The Real World,” where he met Rachel Campos, and “The Challenge.” The Duffys have been married for 25 years and have nine children. 

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has already met with Duffy and has affirmed he will vote to confirm him as secretary of transportation. But it is doubtful that Duffy will receive much challenge from other Democrats in the Senate. The scalp Democrats appeared to most want was Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth; but on Tuesday, they failed resoundingly. Barring any major hiccup, his confirmation is all but secured. The other two Trump nominees Democrats appear to want to see fail: Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard. So, they are no doubt strategizing their tactics and training their fire. 

Prediction: Duffy is in the safe zone and will be confirmed.

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