(The Center Square) – Supporters believe former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy will usher in a new “golden era” of transportation and opponents believing he is an unqualified pick who could undo years of environmental progress.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Duffy to lead the Transportation Department. He represented the 7th Congressional District of Wisconsin from 2010 until 2019.
Duffy has little experience in transportation policy outside of service on the House Financial Services Committee. But many of his Republican former colleagues from the state have expressed confidence in his ability to fulfill the position currently held by Pete Buttigieg.
“President Trump made a fantastic selection with his nomination of Sean Duffy to serve as the next secretary of Transportation,” U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden said on X. “Sean is a strong advocate for Wisconsinites and the American people, knows roads are not racist, and will bring the level of leadership needed at DoT to execute President Trump’s vision for rebuilding our bridges, highways, waterways, and more. I wish him great success in this new role and am looking forward to working with him to make our nation’s infrastructure strong again.”
U.S. Reps. Brian Steil, Scott Fitzgerald, and Glenn Grothman and Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos also expressed their individual support for Duffy, saying he will bring innovative ideas and “common-sense changes” to U.S. transportation policy, such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and opposing electric vehicle mandates.
These changes are what opponents of Duffy say they fear.
“Another day, another deeply unqualified Cabinet nomination from Donald Trump – Sean Duffy has no business leading the Department of Transportation,” Executive Director of the environmental organization Sierra Club Ben Jealous said in a statement Tuesday. “The role of DOT secretary requires someone with real-world experience in transportation, an understanding of how fossil fuel vehicles pollute our communities, and a commitment to helping keep people walking, cycling, or driving safe on our roads.”
Some members of left-leaning media organizations have posted more scathing analyses, particularly targeting Duffy’s critiques of federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs and his involvement at conservative outlet Fox News.
“Duffy’s transportation experience – outside of Road Rules – includes blaming Boeing’s ills on DEI,” Matthew Gertz from Media Matters said on X. “This revolving door between Fox and the Trump administration is part of a broad pattern of the right-wing propaganda network’s influence over the federal government under his past–and future–presidency.”
But ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., has expressed confidence that the DOT and Duffy can work together, calling transportation policy one of the most bipartisan areas of politics.
“This Congress, the T&I Committee has advanced major bipartisan legislation to keep people and the economy moving, including the FAA Reauthorization Act, the Water Resources Development Act and the Coast Guard Authorization Act,” Larsen said. “Next Congress, I look forward to working with my T&I colleagues to build on this bipartisan work by passing a surface transportation bill – which Congress has consistently done for the past 25 years – that will create good-paying jobs and build a cleaner, greener, safer and more accessible transportation system across the country.”