Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is set to launch a YouTube series documenting a cross-country road trip with his family, a project produced by the team behind MTV’s “The Real World” and tied to a broader federal effort marking the nation’s 250th year.
The digital series will follow the Cabinet secretary and his family as they travel across the country on an extended road trip. It is being produced by Bunim/Murray Productions, the company behind MTV’s 1997 season of The Real World: Boston, which featured Duffy early in his television career. Funding for the five-part series comes from The Great American Road Trip, a nonprofit organization launched by the Trump administration to support programming tied to the milestone.
The road trip initiative is a personal priority for Duffy and is rooted in his own experience traveling with his large family. Duffy, a father of nine, has emphasized road trips as a way for families to spend time together away from screens, calling them “a civic experience” and “one of the most powerful ways to understand” the country. The effort is framed as part of a broader push to promote a more family-focused and patriotic culture ahead of the celebration.
The effort, coordinated with the nonprofit group, focuses on small towns, main streets, and locally owned businesses across the country. Participating locations will feature QR codes with additional information, and members of Congress are expected to distribute “road trip passports” that can be stamped at sites along the route.
Content from the trip will be shared on YouTube, through the initiative’s digital platforms, and across Duffy’s social media channels. The department has not said when the series will begin filming or when it is expected to be released, and an air date has not yet been determined. While the effort is closely tied to the department’s broader 250th year push, the series itself is being produced through a nonprofit organization rather than directly by the federal government.
The rollout comes as higher travel costs could complicate plans for some Americans. Gas prices have risen sharply in recent weeks, climbing nearly a dollar since late February to a national average of about $4 per gallon, a level not seen since August 2022.
If elevated prices persist, they could make extended road trips more difficult for families this summer, even as the administration promotes travel as part of its campaign.
Duffy has also been navigating travel disruptions elsewhere. Earlier this month, long wait times at airports were reported after a shutdown impacted the Department of Homeland Security, creating staffing challenges for Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.
President Donald Trump signed an order on March 27 redirecting funds intended for DHS to ensure TSA workers were paid. While paychecks have since resumed, longer-term funding questions remain as lawmakers are on a previously scheduled recess until mid-April.
Even as those challenges persist, Duffy framed the project as an opportunity for Americans to reconnect with the country ahead of its semiquincentennial celebration.
“America isn’t something you can understand from a screen. It has to be experienced, on its roads, in its towns, across its landscapes, and among Americans,” he said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner, calling road travel “one of the most powerful ways to understand the vast, complicated place we call home.”
The road trip campaign is one of several initiatives the Transportation Department is rolling out under its “Freedom 250” umbrella marking the nation’s 250th year.
Those efforts include a planned IndyCar street race in Washington, D.C., in August 2026, a civics-focused installation campaign at major transit hubs such as Union Station and JFK Airport, and partnerships with major airlines to unveil planes branded for the celebration.
The department is also working with Amtrak to launch a “Freedom Train” field trip program for students traveling between Washington and Philadelphia, alongside a new advisory council and design competition focused on beautifying transportation infrastructure nationwide.
Duffy said the initiative is meant to encourage Americans to rediscover the country beyond what they see online.
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“In this 250th anniversary year, let’s not just celebrate America. Let’s explore it.”
Duffy’s public career began on reality television, where he appeared on The Real World and later Road Rules: All Stars, where he met his future wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy. He later pursued a legal career after graduating in 1999, working in private practice and as a prosecutor in Wisconsin before entering politics and winning a congressional seat in 2009. After leaving office, he returned to television as a personality on Fox Business Network.