Former congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy sailed through his confirmation hearing with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Like his former Fox News colleague and Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, Duffy’s personality is magnetic and extremely likeable. Duffy’s edge over Hegseth is his Midwest roots, which allows him to come off affable and non-threatening, while still presenting himself as razor sharp and focused. Duffy also had the advantage of sitting down with most everyone on the Senate committee: Democrat and Republican. So, the atmosphere for Duffy’s confirmation hearing was much less formal, more collegial, and even contained moments of jocularity.
Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) opened the hearing, introduced ranking member Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), then went over housekeeping items before giving the floor to the Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to introduce Duffy for the record.
Some Americans and legacy media have questioned Duffy’s qualifications for the Secretary of Transportation position; Sen. Johnson led with outlining why he was well qualified for this particular government agency.
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Baldwin was effusive in her praise of Duffy and his commitment to bipartisanship.
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Duffy then presented his opening statement, which was succinct, but aspirational, particularly in his conclusion:
Transportation is entering an extraordinary new era. From eVTOLs, drones and autonomous vehicles to space travel, we are in a global race to out-innovate the rest of the world. If confirmed, we will craft clear regulations that balance safety, innovation, and cutting-edge technology.
Transportation impacts every aspect of life—from the efficiency and security of our ports to the ease of commuting to work, school, and church. Together with President Trump, this committee, and the entire DOT team, we will usher in a golden age of travel. This is America. Americans dream big and lead the world in innovation.
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Duffy bringing his whole family along was a smart move. Hegseth also has a large family, but given the treatment he received and the smears lodged at him, it was wise not to have them present. Duffy had no such concerns, and the presence of his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy and eight of his nine children in attendance, was an enhancement to his qualifications and augmented his capability to lead.
As he admired the composure of Duffy’s children during the long hearing, Senator John Curtis (R-UT) said:
If you handled your work in transportation like you did in the House, we’re in good hands. But I must tell you, as a father of six, I’m even more impressed by what’s on display today. I don’t think I could take my six kids anywhere and have them sit anywhere for over an hour as well as these kids have.[…]
So impressive. You can judge a person by a lot of things, but I’ve always felt like you can judge them by their family and their kids. Congratulations, very impressive.
Because of those productive meetings Duffy had with each senator, the hearing was more about getting the meat of these conversations and Duffy’s response on the record, rather than any major hashing out of policy or grandstanding sound bites.
Transportation is not sexy, but it is essential to a country’s connection and a country’s thriving. From the questions and commentary of both Democrat and Republican senators, it appears the Biden administration’s focus on inclusion and woke agendas to the exclusion of actually getting things done to improve and protect infrastructure and transportation systems, was a point of frustration. There is little good in passing a so-called Infrastructure Act, when its application to improve or rebuild infrastructure moves at a glacial pace or not at all.
The questions asked from many of the body primarily surrounded three issues: 1. Aerospace in its many forms; 2. Recognition and rebuilding rural America; and, 3. Federal agencies and red tape.
A good number of those aerospace infrastructure questions surrounded Boeing Corporation. They wanted to affirm that Duffy would continue to address the fissures with Boeing, and maintain the investigation into the safety concerns exposed by whistleblowers in 2024. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received 126 reports of safety problems with the company, and their 737 line suffered critical failures, like a door support malfunctioning, causing the door to fall off mid-flight.
As Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) explained to Duffy, the committee is “highly rural,” and these states concerns have been ignored by previous administrations. Several small businesses in Moran’s state are a supply chain to the Boeing Corporation, so the company’s failure is of great concern.
Duffy affirmed that, “Boeing is a national security issue, I look forward to working with the committee to address the concerns.”
Federal aviation was not the only concern among the committee. Several of the senators addressed drones, and also wanted to know Duffy’s view on the Central Air Service, smaller passenger and logistics hubs that cover rural and mountainous areas, like those in Wisconsin, Alaska, Montana, and Mississippi.
Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) told Duffy that his “vision of a Golden Age of transportation is a great vision.” Sullivan lamented that Alaska was resource rich, but infrastructure poor. Because of this, their air service program was essential.
Duffy affirmed that he has “supported and will continue to support Central Air Service.”
Duffy also affirmed he was committed to seeing rural areas get their due. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) raised the concern of Tribal Transportation, and how the federal government had abandoned projects to pave roads in the tribal areas. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) asked Duffy how they could overcome the delays which are hampering the rebuilding of Western North Carolina and its infrastructure, particularly I-40, the federal roadway that connects the Carolinas to Eastern Tennessee.
Duffy said, “When people from rural America feel like they’re forgotten because they are from rural America, it’s shameful.” Duffy stated that if he were confirmed, he would do everything within the power of the department of Transportation to right this.
Which segued into the issue of federal bureaucracies, red tape, and the cost and time spent to build or rebuild infrastructure projects because of this. Several senators alluded to the Biden administration’s penchant to slow-roll rulemaking and legislation, or to simply ignore these for infrastructure concerns that were not flashy or that didn’t suit the administration’s agenda.
Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) thanked Duffy for sharing his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy’s story of being in a catastrophic car accident, and shared how he had been the victim of a head-on collision by a drunk driver and the trauma he still experiences over it. Luján aired his frustration over the stalls to rulemaking over safety concerns, and how the Biden administration’s aims have resulted in legislation being stalled. Legislation that could be saving lives.
Luján thanked Duffy,
[…F]or your focus on safety throughout your testimony. If I heard you correctly, you told Sen. Cruz that you want your legacy as Secretary of Transportation to be improving safety. I cannot think of a more noble and important priority, and your work in making our country safer for our families and our communities.
Duffy’s confirmation is a done deal.
