DOT Nominee Sean Duffy Clears Commerce Committee Unanimously

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), voted to advance President Trump's nominee for U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the Honorable Sean Duffy, to the full Senate with unanimous support from committee members. Duffy's nomination passed the committee by a vote of 28 yeas and 0 nays.

Sen. Cruz delivered the following remarks on Duffy's nomination:

"Today, the Committee will consider the nomination of Sean Duffy to be Secretary of Transportation.

"If confirmed, Congressman Duffy will take the helm of a department with more than 55,000 employees, leading the administration's efforts to make it easier and faster for families, commuters, truckers, and flyers to get around without running into traffic, potholes, or delays.

"Congressman Duffy comes to the Department of Transportation at a pivotal moment. In aviation, the FAA confronts a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers as it works to instill a culture of safety across the industry. On the roads, President Trump has moved to stop costly and unpopular electric vehicle mandates so every American can buy the car of his or her choice. Meanwhile, across all sectors, the Department faces the rise of emerging technologies like unmanned drones and self-driving cars, which bring both opportunities and challenges.

"Congressman Duffy is prepared to meet these challenges. To quote Senator Baldwin at his hearing last week, 'Sean is the right person for this job.' A five-term congressman and former co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, Representative Duffy has successfully advanced transportation projects like the St. Croix Crossing with strong bipartisan and bicameral support.

"As Secretary, he will prioritize safety while fixing our broken permitting process. Sadly, radical environmentalists have captured federal permitting and shifted it from NIMBY to BANANAs-as in Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone. I expect that to end with Sean. He will work, as Senator Baldwin said, with 'both sides of the aisle to improve our infrastructure and address the challenges that arise in the years ahead.'

"Most importantly, Congressman Duffy's personal experiences-his wife Rachel's head-on car crash, his dedication to raising a daughter with a disability-show that he appreciates the responsibility of this role. He told us: 'As the father of nine kids, I think about transportation quite a bit, and about transportation safety a lot.'

"He knows what American families face in their daily lives and how important safety is to them. In many ways, he embodies the 'revolution of common sense' the President has called for.

"I hope we can agree Mr. Duffy is the kind of consensus-driven leader we need to oversee the Department of Transportation, and I strongly urge my colleagues to support his nomination."

Senators and members of America's transportation community previously expressed their support for Duffy's nomination.

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https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/1/dot-nominee-sean-duffy-clears-commerce-committee-with-strong-bipartisan-support