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Sean Duffy
American politician (born 1971) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sean Patrick Duffy (born October 3, 1971) is an American politician, former television presenter, lobbyist, attorney, and lumberjack serving as the United States secretary of transportation. Duffy has additionally served as the acting administrator of NASA since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's seventh congressional district from 2011 to 2019.
Born in Hayward, Wisconsin, Duffy was a professional lumberjack, competing in the city's Lumberjack World Championship for several years and winning multiple titles in speed climbing. In 1997, he appeared on The Real World: Boston, the sixth iteration of MTV's The Real World set in Boston, Massachusetts. Duffy later appeared on Road Rules: All Stars. As a lumberjack, he competed in ESPN's Great Outdoor Games (2000–2006) and was a commentator for the games. Duffy graduated from St. Mary's College of Minnesota with a degree in marketing and from the William Mitchell College of Law in 1999. He worked at his father's law practice for two years before becoming a special prosecutor for Ashland County. In 2002, Duffy was appointed as the district attorney of Ashland County, serving in the position until 2010.
In July 2009, Duffy announced that he would challenge Democratic U.S. representative Dave Obey. He defeated Julie Lassa, a Democrat who won the nomination after Obey announced he would not run for re-election, in the 2010 election for Wisconsin's seventh congressional district. Duffy was re-elected in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. He resigned in September 2019 after complications involving his ninth child. After leaving Congress, Duffy worked for the consulting firm BGR Group. He began co-hosting Fox Business's The Bottom Line with Dagen McDowell in 2023. In November 2024, president-elect Donald Trump named Duffy as his nominee for United States secretary of transportation. Duffy was confirmed by the Senate in January 2025. On July 9, 2025, Duffy was also selected as acting administrator of NASA, replacing Janet Petro.
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Early life and education (1971–1997)
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Sean Patrick Duffy was born on October 3, 1971,[1] in Hayward, Wisconsin.[2] Duffy was the tenth child of Tom and Carol Duffy.[3] He was raised in a Catholic family, of which several of its members participated in and won Hayward's annual Lumberjack World Championships.[4] Duffy, inspired by his siblings, began logrolling when he was five.[2] He attended Hayward High School,[3] where he played as a defenseman for the school's hockey team.[5] He began speed climbing when he was fifteen.[6] Duffy continued lumberjacking after high school,[7] winning a speed climbing title at the 1993 Mississippi River Log Boom.[8] His speed climbing technique involved reckless movement; Fred Scheer compared Duffy to a "race-car driver who bumps the wall now and then".[9] Duffy was the world champion speed climber at the 1994 Lumberjack World Championship.[10] He graduated from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota with a B.A degree in marketing in 1994[11] and worked for Scheer's Lumberjack Shows in the summers.[12] By June 1997, The New York Times Magazine considered Duffy one of the top American lumberjacks at that time.[9] He later graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law with a J.D. degree in 1999.[13] Duffy's nephew is Erik Johnson, a defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche and the first overall pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft.[14]
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Career
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Television and sports work (1997–2004)
In 1997, Duffy auditioned for The Real World: Boston, the sixth iteration of MTV's The Real World set in Boston, Massachusetts, and became a cast member by July.[15] In his audition, Duffy said that he was interested in "cute girls"; his role on the show was described by The New York Times as a "resident playboy".[4] The series completed filming in December, though Duffy would begin filming for Road Rules: All Stars (1998) that month, necessitating him to delay another semester of law school.[16] On the set of Road Rules, he met Rachel Campos. The two married in April 1999 at the Newman Center at Arizona State University located within Old St. Mary's Church; though they planned to wed later that year, Campos's unexpected pregnancy expedited their wedding.[17] The two have nine children together.[4] In 2002, Duffy appeared in and won Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons. He competed in the Great Outdoor Games's competitions for log rolling in 2000 and 2001 and for speed climbing from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Duffy was named as a commentator for the Great Outdoor Games.[18] He was named as the honorary athlete for the 2004 Badger State Winter Games.[19] Duffy competed in the speed climbing competition for the Great Outdoor Games in 2005.[6] Additionally, he was a commentator for the mixed doubles Boom Run.[20]
Prosecutor and district attorney (2002–2010)
After graduating from law school in 1999, Duffy worked for his father's practice for two years before becoming a special prosecutor for Ashland County.[11] In June 2002, Wisconsin governor Scott McCallum appointed Duffy as the district attorney of Ashland County following Michael Gableman's resignation. Duffy told The Post-Crescent that he intended to run for a complete term in that year's election.[21] He ran unopposed in that year's election[22] and the 2004 election.[23] Duffy served as a Wisconsin delegate in the 2004 Republican National Convention[23] and the 2004 presidential election.[24] In May 2005, Wisconsin's Federal Nominating Commission forwarded four candidates, including Duffy, to succeed J. B. Van Hollen as the United States attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.[25] Duffy was re-elected in 2006 and 2008.[26] As district attorney, he had a ninety percent conviction rate.[27]
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U.S. House of Representatives (2011–2019)
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Tenure
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In June 2003, Duffy stated that he was considering challenging representative Dave Obey, who had served as the United States representative for Wisconsin's seventh congressional district since 1969, as a Republican in the 2004 election.[22] In February 2004, he declined to challenge Obey, citing Rachel's expected third child.[28] In July 2009, Duffy indicated he would run for representative.[29] On July 9, at Wausau Homes in Rothschild,[30] Duffy announced that he would challenge Obey in the 2010 election.[31] He later told The New York Times that he decided to challenge Obey, then the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, over his position in strengthening government, particularly his role in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and healthcare reforms proposed during the Obama administration.[26]
Finance filings released by Duffy's campaign in October revealed that he had accrued relatively fewer donations than Obey, though Duffy had not taken money from political action committees. The achievement made the campaign eligible for the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program, giving it further funding.[32] The Duffy campaign hit US$300,000 in January 2010, setting a record.[27] Duffy received endorsements from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin[33] and the Seventh Congressional District Republican Party through a caucus it held.[34] In May 2010, Obey announced that he would not be running for re-election.[35] The following day, the Duffy campaign was promoted within the Young Guns program, further unlocking additional financial resources.[36] By that month, Duffy had been expected to advance to the general election.[37] In September, Duffy defeated Dan Mielke in the Republican primary.[38] Duffy defeated Julie Lassa to win the general election in November.[39]
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Duffy spoke at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference, focusing his talk on "cutting spending by the spenders".[40] He criticized earmarks in his campaign, though he later expressed a willingness to secure necessary financing.[41] His critics labeled a measure to construct the St. Croix Crossing as an earmark; Duffy disputed that label.[42] Duffy expressed reservations over an effort to repeal sections of the Affordable Care Act, but voted with Republicans amid a reassurance of a replacement from House majority whip Kevin McCarthy. He voted against a bill that would defund NPR, citing his constituent's use of public radio.[43] In June 2011, the Wisconsin State Assembly approved a congressional map that would politically benefit Duffy[44] with the intention of securing his seat.[45] He was re-elected in 2012,[46] 2014,[47] 2016,[48] and 2018.[49]
After being initially sworn in, Duffy was named to the House Committee on Financial Services.[50] In November 2014, he was named as the chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.[51] In October 2015, Duffy was named to the House Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood.[52] A proposed bill by Duffy in July 2011 would have installed a five-member oversight panel to control the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and would have given Congress greater authority to overturn the bureau's regulations.[53] He praised the Budget Control Act to resolve the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis as an act of bipartisanship.[54] In April 2016, he introduced the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act to resolve the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis.[55] Duffy proposed a bill in January 2019 that would have expanded presidential tariff authority.[56] Duffy spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention—despite an overall lessened prominence from House Republicans at the convention that year,[57] the 2016 Republican National Convention,[58] and the 2020 Republican National Convention.[59] Duffy started Plaidcast (2017–2019) in 2017, among several members of Congress who started a podcast that year.[60]
Resignation
On August 26, 2019, Duffy announced that he would resign over complications involving his ninth child who had not been born yet. His resignation was effective on September 23.[61] Rachel Campos-Duffy gave birth in October. Campos-Duffy stated that the child had "two holes in the heart and valves that need to be fixed", as well as Down syndrome as a result of aneuploidy.[62] Duffy's resignation led to a special election; Republican Tom Tiffany won the election, defeating Democrat Tricia Zunker.[63]
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Post-government activities (2019–2024)
In October 2019, CNN hired Duffy as a paid contributor. He faced criticism for defending Donald Trump in a scandal involving a quid pro quo with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and suggesting that a Democratic National Committee server had gone missing in Ukraine. Jeffrey Toobin, a legal contributor to the network, rebuked Duffy for his "anti-immigrant bigotry" after he described the whistleblower Alexander Vindman as loyal to Ukraine. CNN's vice president, Rebecca Kutler, defended Duffy.[64] In November, he joined BGR Group as a senior counsel leading its financial services practice.[65] He was registered to lobby until 2023, when he joined the firm's advisory board, remaining on the board until he was named as Trump's secretary of transportation. Duffy represented various clients, including Enterprise Products and the Partnership for Fair and Open Skies.[66] In 2021, Duffy and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, began a podcast, From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys (2021–2024).[4] He began co-hosting Fox Business's The Bottom Line with Dagen McDowell in 2023.[67]
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Secretary of Transportation (2025–present)
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Nomination and confirmation
In November 2024, following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, the Trump advisor Elon Musk advocated for Emil Michael, the former chief business officer of Uber, to be nominated as Trump's secretary of transportation. Duffy was supported by Susie Wiles, Trump's campaign manager, and Reince Priebus, Trump's former chief of staff.[68] On November 18, Trump named Duffy as his nominee for secretary of transportation.[69] He appeared before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on January 15 in a notably non-contentious hearing that focused on aviation safety and infrastructure. Duffy stated before the committee that he would clear bureaucratic efforts to advance critical infrastructure projects and that he would increase the number of air traffic controllers.[70] The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to advance his nomination 28–0 on January 22.[71] The Senate voted to confirm Duffy on January 28 in a 77–22 vote; protesting a federal grant pause, several Democrats voted against Duffy.[72] He was sworn in that day by Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas.[73]
Tenure
In one of his initial acts as secretary, Duffy moved to revert corporate average fuel economy standards set by his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg.[74] He issued a directive prioritizing high-birthrate areas—predominantly Republican states—for federal assistance[75] and additionally sought to restrict transportation funding from local governments that do not comply with Trump's immigration policy.[76] The following day, a passenger jet collided with a United States Army helicopter over the Potomac River in Duffy's first crisis.[77] In the aftermath of the incident, Duffy directed the Federal Aviation Administration to restrict two helicopter routes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.[78] Following the incident, he repeated Trump's assertion that the apparent failure of air traffic controllers to avert the collision was a result of diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring practices.[79] Days later, a second deadly plane collision occurred in Philadelphia[80] and the Federal Aviation Administration's NOTAM systems experienced a temporary outage, leading to flight delays.[81] The effort to keep air traffic controllers came with a pay increase.[82] Additionally, Duffy continued the Department of Transportation's oversight of Boeing.[83]
Duffy's work intersected with the Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk's activities within the federal government, including efforts to force federal employees to resign. He rejected the Office of Personnel Management's early retirement offer for "critical positions in regard to safety", including air traffic controllers.[84] After Musk stated that the Department of Government Efficiency would assess outdated aviation technology, Duffy confirmed that he had agreed to improve internal systems. Senator Maria Cantwell, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter to Duffy in response that urged him to dissociate Musk with the Federal Aviation Administration;[85] in February, Duffy said on X that SpaceX officials would be visiting the agency.[86] The following month, The New York Times reported on a meeting between Duffy and Musk in which Duffy criticized the Department of Government Efficiency for purportedly attempting to fire air traffic controllers.[87]
In February, Duffy sent a letter to New York governor Kathy Hochul objecting to congestion pricing in New York City and stating his intention to revoke the program's federal approval.[88] His campaign to end the program involved a social media video featuring five men displeased with congestion pricing.[89] Duffy later delayed New York's deadline to end the program hours before it was originally set.[90] By April, the U.S. Department of Transportation had begun to consider other fabrications to pressure New York to end congestion pricing after an agreement with New York transit officials stayed the program.[91] That month, Duffy announced that the federal government would assume control of Pennsylvania Station.[92] In addition, he threatened to withhold federal funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over subway crime, risking the city's US$14 billion effort to improve transit that depends on federal assistance.[93] Duffy cut federal funding for the Texas Central Railway in April[94] and California High-Speed Rail in June.[95]
On July 9, Trump named Duffy as the acting administrator of NASA, succeeding acting administrator Janet Petro.[96]
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Political positions
Domestic issues
Duffy has rejected being a member of the Tea Party movement, though he has praised the movement and an associated figure, the conservative political commentator Glenn Beck.[97] In an op-ed for The Washington Times a year after the passage of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, he critically reviewed its impact as "woefully under-delivered".[98] Duffy has criticized the federal government's response to climate change as an "agenda of control" and has questioned the scientific consensus of climate change.[99]
Aviation policy
At the Paris Air Show in June 2025, Duffy called for free trade in aerospace.[100]
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Bibliography
In December 2021, Duffy co-authored All American Christmas with his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy.[101]
Electoral history
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
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References
Works cited
External links
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