President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that he will nominate former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy to be secretary of transportation.
The choice of Duffy, 53, is the second time Trump, 78, has raided the Fox News talent stable to help staff his administration.
Duffy, a former prosecutor who represented the Badger State’s 7th District for more than eight years, is a Fox News contributor and co-hosts the evening Fox Business Network program “The Bottom Line.” His wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-hosts “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
On the program, Duffy has been critical of current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, including for the airline travel chaos that unfolded under his watch back in 2022.
“Admired across the aisle, Sean worked with Democrats to clear extensive Legislative hurdles to build the largest road and bridge project in Minnesota History,” Trump said in a statement, an apparent reference to the St. Croix Crossing between Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“The husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News, and the father of nine incredible children, Sean knows how important it is for families to be able to travel safely, and with peace of mind.”
Last week, Trump announced that Pete Hegseth, an Army National Guard member and”Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host, was his pick for secretary of defense.
During his four-year reprieve from the White House, Trump sporadically lashed out at his last transportation secretary — Elaine Chao, wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
This go-around, Trump has been particularly keen on staffing up his next administration with allies whom he feels are committed to shaking up the status quo.
“[Duffy] will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports. He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers,” Trump added.
Duffy’s tenure in Congress ended in early 2019, when he stepped down to tend to his newborn daughter who suffered from a heart defect. The transportation secretary-designate has nine children.
Should Duffy win confirmation, he will oversee a department that has over 55,000 employees and oversees rail, transit and other infrastructure policies. The Department of Transportation has a budget of roughly $110 billion.
If confirmed, Duffy would also inherit additional funding from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress, including for electric vehicle charging apparatuses which have been roundly mocked by conservatives.