President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former Congressman and current Fox personality Sean Duffy as Secretary of Transportation.
Duffy is married to Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-host with Pete Hegseth of Fox’s Fox & Friends Weekend whom Trump announced he would nominate as Secretary of Defense. Both Duffy and Campos-Duffy appeared in different seasons of The Real World, and met while filming Road Rules: All Stars (1998).
His focus in Congress has been on financial services policy, and also chaired the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee in the House. I haven’t seen him among the more prominent voices in the Republican Party on transportation issues.
As a commentator, he suggested this year that the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 incident where the aircraft lost a door plug could have been the result of the planemaker’s DEI initatives, and used the Southwest Airlines Christmas 2022 meltdown to criticize the Biden administration and in particular Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s handling of consumer complaints.
That said, he strikes me as a mainstream conservative-turned-pundit likely to be more amenable than the previous administration to airline partnerships and mergers, and more skeptical towards regulation. That was certainly not a foregone conclusion, and the Republican Party overall has become more hostile to business over the past decade and more inclined towards populism and a willingness to revisit past opposition to anti-trust.
Betting markets had House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chair Sam Graves as favorite for the position. Graves was term-limited out of that position, and expected to move to another role (though it’s possible he seeks and receives a waiver.) Behind that Graves was a secondary pick, Garret Graves (no relation), a member of the House who was redistricted out of his seat and who chaired the Aviation Subcommittee of the transportation committee. Both were considered ‘normal’ Republicans in terms of policy.
I didn’t have Duffy on my bingo card for Transportation. I thought he was quite good as an outspoken conservative congressman, less so as part of the cast of the Real World‘s season six (Boston). A banking and finance role would not have surprised me. And that’s why this was the most likely pick of all – see also, ‘the funniest outcome is always the most likely’.
Gary, must we degrade every pick by the mandate of the American people? You’re still obese, you’re still ugly, and you’re still a loser.
Being sassy won’t change that.
The bar is very low. He will be at least as good as [redacted] and the man who thinks he’s a woman, Mr Rachel Levine, the Asst Secretary of Health of the DHHS.
Of course he’s not remotely qualified; but at least he hasn’t been formally charged with a crime (as of this writing), which is a plus. Being an original Tea Party member from Boston is… original.
“I haven’t seen him among the more prominent voices in the Republican Party on transportation issues.”
That all of a sudden matters, when we have the current abomination as Secretary? Hahahahaha
WI-7: land of chronic embarrassment.
Gary….but you think mayor [redacted] WAS qualified? You’re going to have a rough 4 years.
Do yourself a favor:
Find a good therapist or pick up drinking.
@Chris – where did I say anything in this post evaluating the tenure of Secretary Buttigieg? (In fact, I’ve been highly critical of his tenure.)
@toomanybooks – My question was, what can we glean about him from his record in terms of how he’d act as Transportation Secretary? So yes, his record on such issues and past comments are highly relevant to the question at hand.
…and the clown show continues…
Reality stars should not be a surprise. High profile individuals fit the next administration’s requirements. Buttigieg did a great job ( my opinion) so everyone can continue to hold their own beer and relax.
Someday…maybe…probably not…you’ll all realize that the reality TV guy who lies like a rug and failed at running casino hotels (6x bankrupt btw) for f sakes is not going to be your savior. The rest of us…we can only hope this will be the final straw before we can return to good people who want to do a good job. We can only pray…
@CHRIS and @KL: Your comments suggest you are repressing your desires. Come out and celebrate your true selves.
And people thought Idiocracy was satire when it’s really a preview of the next four years. Let’s see if the plan to nominate so many stunningly inept people to high level positions that the senate will have to let some of them through ends up succeeding. You may not like the current cabinet but at least they’re all sane and understand their jobs.
Wait! Rumors are swirling inside Mar-a-Lago that The Pillow Guy will be the next Surgeon General!
God help America.
Duffy’s qualification — not that any is needed given how low the bar is nowadays — is that he’s been a Tr*mp kiss-up and Fox “news” talking head.
The guy’s knowledge about transportation is pretty poor, although his stint in Congress did help him get a bit familiar with constituent concerns and airline lobbyists.
“Aisha Muhammed” needs to learn some manners. “Aisha Muhammed’s” parents didn’t teach him well.
WI-7, I know it well and love the area. I used to run into Duffy at what became his primary Wisconsin airport when he was in Congress. 😉
Most of Duffy’s district area used to be Democratic voters up into at least 2008.
If you’re going to oppose Duffy or Gaetz or any of the others, stop saying they aren’t qualified. Cabinet secretaries have little or no qualification requirements under the U.S. Constitution and U.S. federal law. It’s a political post, chosen by the president and, generally, confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The actual daily machinations of an agency are run by a deputy, political staff and career civil servants. Cabinet secretaries in the U.S. system are figureheads at best with little real power.
Stop trying to be the language police or you may come across like an arse.
Just because a President can be like a Roman Caesar and nominate a donkey as consul or cabinet secretary doesn’t make the donkey qualified for the job.
I think Boston was one of the better seasons of The Real World. Does that mean I think he’d be a good Secretary of Transportation? No.
What is most concerning is that the new regime wants to get rid if career professionals at these agencies and retain only those who are ‘loyal’ to the president personally, not constitutionally. We need competent leadership and underlings who do the real, everyday work of making the ‘trains (and planes) run on time’ – Instead, this is looking more and more like we’re heading for post-Soviet Russia. Comrades, that is not good.
The current Sec of Transportation is a poor regulator because the department of Transportation is “captured” by the industries it regulates. There is nothin new or different here. This is an olde point even in conservative mainstream political science scholarship from the 1950s and 1960s. At least the current Sec of Transportation pressed the airlines about their Frequent Flyer devaluations in the last minutes of the administration when any pro-consumer regulation can get done. Of course the new adm will allow industries to run unsafe trains, planes and automobiles in fact even more than usual. Boeing is surely breathing easier now, while we will be squised and even more unsafe. Watch the FAA safety evaluations and the Tesla crash investigations for indications where the next 4 years will lead us. Meanwhile I am not flying after DODGE fires all those redundant FAA inspectors keeping us safe.
He’s not gay and he hasn’t professed any love for trains, nor has he disclosed his view on whether highways are racist, so yeah, he’s obviously unqualified.
Duffy’s level of intelligence and knowledge is not impressive. He’s not a bad guy from what I know of him, but he’s a neo-DEI hire and selected over more qualified people because he’s a Tr*mp kiss-up and Fox News talking head.
@mantis
he’s at least is qualified as Pete B
Didn’t realize they were so many leftists reading Gary’s Posts. You would think Kackles would have won in a landslide. While some of Trump’s picks are a little shocking based on the last 4 years of ineptness they may start to look like Einstein. Meanwhile I’m glued to the Laken Riley trial courtesy of the Biden administration and Kackles and their astute handling of the border
Buttigieg was smarter, better educated and had a more well-rounded background of relevance to the job when he came into the thankless position of US DOT Secretary than is the case with Duffy for this job. Duffy’s qualification is that he’s a Trump kiss-up and a Fox News talking head — not that Duffy’s smarter or better informed than Buttigieg (as Duffy isn’t smarter or better informed).
@ Aisha — lf Trump has a mandate to fill his cabinet with a bunch of idiots, he’s certainly doing a fine job. At the rate he is going, he will easily cement his position as the worst and least popular POTUS in history.
Was Granholm qualified for DOE?
Was Buttabug qualified for DOT?
Then we have “yes” man Mayorkas. There is no problem at the Southern Border. The dead weight leaves in January.
Is Blinken qualified? Has he done anything besides rack up FF miles?
@coffee, spot on. And breaking this morning the current administration literally flew the killer of Laken Riley on a government taxpayer jet to Athens Georgia sanctuary City
@ All you idiots — The next four years (or probably six months) should be plenty to confirm we are a nation filled with idiots and led by an Orange Idiot. So sad.
@Gene,, TDS? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha HA, I know a doctor who voted for Trump that would be glad to write you a prescription to Lexapro.
@Gene, I know 6 pilots, 2 pharmacists, and a doctor who voted for Trump. Meanwhile, I live on a Georgia Island where the average income is $144,000 per year (meaning for the uneducated that half make more) that voted 70% for Trump. If this is what it takes to be an idiot, I will happily apply.
Maybe some can tell me about the vast experience with large transit systems our current DOT Secretary has. I wasn’t aware that South Bend had hundreds of bus routes and a dozen train routes.
As far as the current appointee. Anyone that could have influence of ridding ourselves of the TSA Security Theater of shoes off, no large liquids, and be forced into the Nude-O-Scan (even at times if you’re Pre Check) would be a real winner in my book.
@ Bestonik — Good to know that the highly educated will vote for a treasonist, rapist for their leader. Sounds pretty stupid to me.
Duffy is a TSA kiss-up. And he’s no less committed to the “tough on security” idiocy that will have the TSA being the TSA even if airport security screening becomes more of a field day for government contractor companies on the “good old boys” list of the MAGA Lord and his crooked enablers.
A TV-reality show for the next four years?
If the TV-reality show, The Apprentice, has never existed, we would not have Trump in power now. There is a special spot in hell for the network executive who greenlighted that show and made large segments of the American public think that Trump was actually an astute businessman.
Any day now, hannity is going to be announced as trump’s official fluffer.
Sounds like Gene is off his meds again! He is back to ad hominem attacks, including the orange hair insult. Sure gets old, but when they’re is no substance to your position, that is what it comes down to
CMorgan is a work of art in the kettle calling the pot black when it comes to the ad hominem. Just a fact.
Musk has approved the DOT pick. Musk gets a Musk kiss-up with Trump’s nomination of Duffy.
Musk is massively annoyed with the US DOT/FAA.
I hope that each and every one of you Trumpists get to experience firsthand exactly what you voted for. Neither candidate was good for the country, hopefully the Dems have learned a lesson and will find a non extremist to run next time.