Sean Duffy, Former Congressman and '90s Star of MTV'sReal World, Sworn in as Transportation Secretary Hours Before American Airlines Crash

Mar. 15, 2025

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who was sworn into the Cabinet position on Jan. 29, pledged to improve travel safety at his confirmation hearing two weeks before an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday evening, becoming one of thedeadliest aviation disastersin U.S. history.

Sean Duffy during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 15, 2025.Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty

Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty

“In aviation, safety will remain the top priority. America needs more air traffic controllers. The best and the brightest,” he continued. “We must modernize our systems with cutting-edge technology. I will work with Congress and the FAA to restore global confidence in Boeing and to ensure our skies are safe. Transportation is entering an extraordinary new era. From eVTOLs, drones and autonomous vehicles to space travel, we are in a global race to out-innovate the rest of the world. If confirmed, we will craft clear regulations that balance safety, innovation, and cutting-edge technology.”

Sean Duffy and President Donald Trump at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025.ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty

He later moved into law in his home state of Wisconsin, serving as the district attorney of Ashland County for a decade. Duffy then went on to serve in Congress, representing the state’s 7th Congressional District, from 2011 to 2019. He later co-hostedThe Bottom Lineon Fox Business, taking him to the same broadcasting company where his wife co-hostsFox & Friends Weekendon Fox News (overlapping in the role with the administration’s new Secretary of Defense,Pete Hegseth).

Vice President J.D. Vance swears in Sean Duffy as U.S. Secretary of Transportation as his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, holds the Bible in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29, 2025.Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty

Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty

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About an hour after the deadly midair collision between the AA flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, Duffy said onXthat he had headed to the FAA headquarters and was closely monitoring the situation.

“May God rest the souls on that plane and in the helicopter and comfort their grieving families,” he wrote in apostthe following day, adding that he directed the Department of. Transportation and FAA to provide “full support” to the NTSB and all responding authorities.

On Thursday afternoon, Duffy spoke after Trump during aWhite House press briefing on the aviation disaster, extending condolences to the families affected and vowing that change would be made.

Duffy won’t lead the investigation into the tragic crash, as the job falls to the National Transportation Safety Board with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration,CNNreported. However, during the briefing, Trump said that Duffy, who was on “his second day of the job when that happened,” will be one of many “working tirelessly. He’s a great gentleman.”

The president added, “These are great people and they are working tirelessly to figure out exactly what happened.”

source: people.com