Trump's Transportation Chief Confirmed in 77-22 Vote

Sean Duffy was confirmed Tuesday as transportation secretary, giving him a key role in helping President Trump cut regulations and fix the nation's infrastructure. The former Wisconsin congressman has promised safer Boeing planes, less regulation, and help for US companies developing self-driving cars—while not giving any breaks to Elon Musk, a key player in that technology. Duffy, a 53-year-old former reality TV star, was approved with bipartisan support on a 77-22 vote in the Senate, the AP reports.

• He takes over the Department of Transportation at a crucial time at the agency, a massive employer of more than 55,000 that spends tens of billions of dollars annually, oversees the nation's highways, railroads, and airspace, and sets safety standards for trains, cars, and trucks.

• At his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Duffy vowed to "restore global confidence" in Boeing, hire more air traffic controllers, cut DEI programs at the agency, and create federal rules for self-driving cars instead of leaving it to a patchwork of state regulations that critics say holds back US development.
• One of the biggest beneficiaries to a such a regulatory overhaul would be Musk. Stock in Tesla, has soared since Trump was elected president on hopes that unified federal rules will be passed. Investors are also expecting the DOT's investigations into Tesla to be eased now that Musk is a key adviser to the president.
• But when pressed by senators in hearings, Duffy promised to hold firm."I will let NHTSA do its investigation," said Duffy, referring to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency in his department in charge of probes and crackdowns on car makers.

(More Sean Duffy stories.)