The Fox News Contribution to Highway Safety and Highway Safety, and a Call to the Chairperson of the Joint Select Committee on Transportation and Public Safety
You might know him from: Fox News, where Duffy has been a contributor since 2020. He served in the US Congress for more than eight years, the majority of which he spent as a Republican.
The Federal Aviation Administration is in charge of the airspace of the nation, as well as agencies that regulate the nation’s railroads, and set safety standards for passenger cars, trucks and commercial vehicles.
That project required action by Congress to grant an exemption from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was one of the Democrats that ended hisear to them after he worked to make that happen.
During the hearing to lead the Department of Transportation, the St. Croix crossing came up a number of times.
“When I fly into Minneapolis and drive up to Hayward, where I was born and raised, I go across that bridge,” Duffy said during the hearing. “I’m proud every single time for the bipartisan work that we did together, and I would like to continue that kind of work should I be confirmed.”
“Our efforts show that we are able to work together and accomplish important things.” And we haven’t always agreed,” Baldwin said in remarks introducing Duffy to the committee. “But at the end of the day, I am confident that Sean is the right person for this job in this upcoming administration.”
In his confirmation hearing, Duffy said he would focus on safety on the roads and skies and reduce the red tape that slows critical infrastructure projects. He promised to bring “tough love” to Boeing as regulators work to restore confidence in the airplane maker. And Duffy said he would address the shortage of air traffic controllers, while hiring only “the best and the brightest” for those jobs.
Trump has looked to the ranks of Fox News for many of his cabinet nominees. Most people have little experience on camera, but that is not the case with Duffy who appeared on “The Real World: Boston” in 1997. He met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, a fellow Fox News contributor, when they both starred on another MTV reality show. A group of the couple’s children and their father were at Wednesday’s hearing.
Duffy noted that roadway safety “hits close to home for me, because my wife survived a deadly head-on car crash, which has profoundly reshaped her life.”
Source: Trump’s Cabinet pick for secretary of transportation is Sean Duffy. Here’s what to know
Sens. Andy Kim, R-Wisconsan Tim Duffy, Transportation Secretary and Senator Ed Markey, aka The Gateway Program
The outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also had little direct experience in transportation before taking the reins. Billions of dollars from the bipartisan infrastructure law have been given by the department under Buttigieg.
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) asked specifically about funding for the Gateway Program, a multi-billion dollar project to replace a series of crumbling rail tunnels and bridges connecting northern New Jersey to Manhattan.
There are a number of areas where the department’s mandate intersects with Musk’s business interests.
Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the DOT, are investigating crashes involving Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance systems. And safety advocates fear the Trump administration could move to end those investigations, along with a crash reporting requirement that Tesla opposes.
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) pressed Duffy on whether he would allow traffic safety investigators to “follow the evidence and operate objectively as part of their investigations?”
When he was a congressman from rural Wisconsin, he voted against Amtrak funding. He said that this committee has talked about the rail system in their home communities.
If he’s confirmed, as appears likely, Duffy said his first trip as transportation secretary would be to the Appalachian mountain regions of Tennessee and North Carolina, where flooding from Hurricane Helene damaged major interstate highways along with countless smaller roads and bridges.
“This is an emergency,” Duffy said. “I’ll do everything in the power of the Department for Transportation to move the process forward as quickly as possible so these communities get access and roads that are functional again.”
What Does Trump’s Cabinet Pick for Treasury Secretary Tell Us About a Problem of Extreme Economic Power and Influence: Sen. Ron Wyden and the Senate Minority Caucus
Bessent was asked if he agreed with Biden by an independent senator who caucuses with Democrats. Bessent did not directly answer the question.
In his farewell address on Wednesday evening, President Biden warned “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
Bessent owns assets worth at least $500 million, and potentially much more, according to his personal financial disclosures. He would be a member of the wealthiest White House ever.
Bessent also fielded questions over many of Trump’s other proposed economic policies. Tariffs have been a particularly contentious topic: Economists warn that Trump’s sweeping proposals could restart inflation.
“We want a tax code that gives everyone in America a chance to get ahead … and there’s a long way to go to get it done,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in his closing remarks.
Bessent was pressed many times by Democrats over the impact of the proposed tax cuts on the national deficit and on income inequality in the US. Extending the law would increase the national debt by over $4 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Source: Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary is Scott Bessent. Here’s what to know
Bessent’s Legacy: Tax Reform and the Trump-President’s Tax Cuts After Trump’s First Two-Term Amendment
Bessent calmly answered questions from both the Democrats and Republicans for over three hours. The Republican who now chairs the committee praised Bessent for his “very straightforward, courteous, and honorable” responses as well as his underlying qualifications for the job, “your background, your training, everything is tailor-made for this role.”
Trump overhauled the tax code during his first administration, in 2017. The changes are largely set to expire this year – meaning that his second administration will have an opportunity to again reshape tax policy for years to come.
“This is the single most important economic issue of the day,” Bessent told members of the Senate Finance Committee. “This is pass-fail. If we don’t fix the tax cuts, then we will be faced with an economic calamity and financial instability that falls on the middle and working class.
What does this role do: The Secretary of the Treasury advises on economic policy and the financial system. If confirmed, Bessent will be responsible for implementing Trump’s proposed economic policies, including tax cuts and sweeping tariffs.
You might know them from: The longtime investor and hedge fund manager was little known outside of Wall Street until he became one of the top economic advisers to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign.
