Difficult first few days for new US Transportation Secretary
January 31, 2025
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is facing a challenging few days in his new role, with the deadly mid-air disaster over Washington DC occurring less than two days since being sworn into office.
“This is not what I expected my first day on the job to be,” stated Secretary Sean Duffy in a statement on social media, extending his condolences to all those affected by the US’ deadliest air disaster in decades.
Speaking yesterday, Duffy revealed he had met with some of the families who lost their loved ones in the mid-air collision over Washington DC. “Their pain is immeasurable. I can’t take away their pain, but I can do a very small part to help ease it by keeping my promise to get to the bottom of what happened and be 100% transparent about the results of the investigation,” he continued.
Writing on Twitter, Duffy added that he was “in the process of developing an initial plan to fix the @FAANews,” which he intends to publish “very shortly”. Although it is unclear how this ‘fix’ might play out, he nevertheless noted he has directed the US DoT and the @FAANews to “provide full support to the NTSB and all responding agencies and authorities”.
He concluded with his conviction that Donald Trump is “the most transparent president in [his] lifetime,” with Duffy intending to “reflect that spirit during this investigation”.
During the National Transportation Safety Board’s inaugural post-accident media briefing, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy noted she had been “communicating early on” with Duffy “after we first got word of this tragedy,” with NTSB and US DOT teams “working together throughout the day”.
Following his initial nomination in November 2024, the long-standing Trump supporter was officially sworn in as 20th Secretary of the US DoT on 28 January, noting that he was “deeply honoured by the trust placed in [him] by President Trump to lead this important Department and for the Senate in swiftly confirming [his] nomination”.
On 29 January, Duffy had stated that “the American people deserve an efficient, safe, and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies”.
Former District Attorney, lumberjack athlete and reality TV star Sean Duffy previously served as Congressman from Wisconsin’s 7th District in the US Congress for ten years, “actively leading on local transportation issues via his co-chairmanship of the Great Lakes Task Force,” explains the US DoT.
