Tim Duffy, MTV’s Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Tammy Baldwin: Working Together to Protect the Wild Rivers and Highways
Duffy has a long record in public service, representing a district in northern Wisconsin in the House of Representatives for more than eight years. He doesn’t have a lot of experience in transportation, but he is currently leading a large organization like the DOT which has a budget of over $100 billion.
The Department of Transportation includes the Federal Aviation Administration, which is in charge of the nation’s airspace, 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 not the only one that endedear him to the Democrats in the Senate.
The St. Croix Crossing, the relationships that the bridge helped forge, came up several times during the confirmation hearing for him to lead the Department of Transportation.
“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 when we work together, we get important things done. Baldwin said the committee hadn’t always agreed with them. “But at the end of the day, I am confident that Sean is the right person for this job in this upcoming administration.”
At the confirmation hearing, Duffy committed to prioritizing safety on the roadways and in the air, and said he would “work to reduce the red tape that slows critical infrastructure projects, ensuring funds are spent efficiently.” He pledged to bring “tough love” to Boeing as regulators work to restore confidence in the struggling airplane maker. To address the shortage of air traffic controllers, he said he would hire the best and the brightest.
Trump has looked to the ranks of Fox News for many of his cabinet nominees. In 1997 he starred on MTV’s The Real World: Boston, he has a lot of experience on camera. He met his future wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, a fellow Fox News contributor, when they both starred on another MTV reality show. Campos-Duffy was on hand at Wednesday’s hearing, along with eight of the couple’s nine children.
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.”
Investigating Tesla crashes involving advanced driver-assistance systems: Amtrak’s first trip to the Appalachian mountain regions of Tennessee and North Carolina
Pete Buttigieg had little experience in transportation before taking over as Secretary of Transportation. Under Buttigieg, the department has handed out billions of dollars from the bipartisan infrastructure law to build roads and bridges, dig tunnels, modernize airports and more.
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.
The department has many areas where it intersects with Musk’s business interests, which included making a quarter of a billion dollars into President-elect Trump’s campaign.
Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the DOT, are investigating crashes involving Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance systems. Safety advocates fear that the Trump administration is going to end the investigations and require crash reporting.
Is it possible for traffic safety investigators to follow the evidence and operate objectively as part of their investigations?
The nominee was asked several times about his level of commitment to Amtrak — not only by Democratic senators from New Jersey and Delaware, but also by Republicans from Kansas and Mississippi.
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 will do everything I can to move the process forward quickly so that these communities get access and roads that are functional again.
Bernie Sanders: “Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary is Scott Bessent,” Sen. Ron Wyden, and a Democratic Caucus on Tax Cuts
At Thursday’s hearing, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, asked Bessent if he agreed with Biden. Bessent did not directly answer the question.
President Biden warned in his final address on Wednesday that an “oligocracy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth and power and influence thatliterally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
Bessent has assets worth at least $500 million, according to his personal financial disclosures. If confirmed, he would be a member of the wealthiest White House ever.
Many of Trump’s proposed economic policies were questioned by Bessent. 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.
Democrats repeatedly pressed Bessent over the impact of Trump’s proposed tax cuts on the national deficit and on income inequality in the United States. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that the law will increase the debt by over $4 trillion over the next 10 years.
Source: Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary is Scott Bessent. Here’s what to know
A Brief History of the Tax Cuts and Their Implications for the Treasury and the Economic Landscape: A Conversation with Benard Bessent
Bessent answered questions from Democrats and Republicans over the course of three hours. The Idaho Republican who now chairs the committee praised Bessent for his “very, 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.”
The tax code was altered by Trump in his first term. The changes will largely expires this year, meaning that his second administration will have the opportunity to again remake tax policy for years to come.
Bessent told members of the Senate Finance Committee that this was the most important economic issue of the day. “This is pass-fail. If we don’t fix the tax cuts, then we will face an economic calamity, and as always, with financial instability that falls on the middle and working class.
The Secretary of the Treasury advises on economic policy and financial system. If confirmed, Bessent will be in charge of implementing some of Trump’s economic policies.
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.