WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Sean Duffy to become transportation secretary in his new administration, positioning him to oversee a complex system that includes pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks, airlines, and mass transit systems, as well as funding for highways.
Here are some things to know about Duffy:
He is a former member of Congress
Duffy, 53, is an attorney who represented Wisconsin in the House for nine years after being elected as part of the tea party wave in 2010. He served from 2011 to 2019, when he resigned, citing a need to care for his large family. In the House, Duffy was a member of the House Financial Services Committee and chairman of its subcommittee on housing and insurance.
Duffy is the second Fox-affiliated host to be tapped by Trump
Duffy joined Fox News as a contributor in 2020 and became one of Trump’s most visible defenders on cable news, a prime concern for the media-focused president-elect. He served as co-host of The Bottom Line on Fox Business until leaving the network on Monday.
Trump announced last week Pete Hegseth, a co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend, as his pick for defense secretary.
Like Trump, Duffy is a former reality TV star
Duffy was featured on MTV’s The Real World: Boston in 1997. He and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, met on the set of MTV’s Road Rules: All Stars in 1998. Campos-Duffy is a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend.
A reality television background before politics is not unusual in Trump’s world. The former and future president starred in The Apprentice before he took office in 2017.
He declined to run for governor of Wisconsin
In 2022, Duffy ruled out a run for Wisconsin governor despite pleas from Trump to make a bid. Duffy said he needed to care for his nine children, including his youngest, who had a heart condition.
When he first ran for Congress, Duffy was largely considered an underdog. He attracted national attention for campaign ads in which he wore a red flannel shirt and chopped wood. He told voters he came from a “long line of lumberjacks” and would bring his axe to Washington.