Another Fox News Host... Who Is Sean Duffy, Trump’s Second-Term Transportation Secretary?

Sean Duffy (53), a former congressman and reality TV star as well as a Fox News host, was selected on the 18th (local time) by President-elect Donald Trump as the Secretary of Transportation for his second administration.

Former Congressman Sean Duffy, nominated as Secretary of Transportation for the second Trump administration. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to AP News and others, Duffy, who left Congress in 2019, has been co-hosting the Fox Business TV show "Bottom Line" since last year. His wife, Rachel Campos, is also a Fox News host. In a statement on the same day, President-elect Trump introduced Duffy as "the husband of the wonderful Fox News star Rachel Campos Duffy."

As a pro-Trump conservative Fox-affiliated TV host, he is the second cabinet nominee for Trump's second term, following Pete Hegseth, the nominee for Secretary of Defense.

Duffy, a former district attorney from Wisconsin, served as a congressman from 2011 to 2019, participating in the Financial Services Committee, Insurance and Housing Subcommittee, among others. President-elect Trump expressed his expectations that based on Duffy's years of experience in Congress, he will "rebuild our country's infrastructure and usher in a golden age of travel," and that "when rebuilding America's highways, tunnels, bridges, and airports, excellence, qualification, competitiveness, and beauty will be prioritized."

He also added, "We will ensure that ports and dams can benefit our economy without compromising national security," and "We will remove pilots' and air traffic controllers' 'DEI' (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) hiring policies to make our skies safe again."

Earlier, Duffy was offered by President-elect Trump to run for governor of Wisconsin ahead of the 2022 election but declined, citing the need to care for his nine children. Later, he revealed via social media that one of his children suffers from a heart condition.

He is considered a loyalist, having received a direct offer from President-elect Trump to run. During Trump's first administration, he actively supported executive orders such as the ban on entry of nationals from Islamic countries into the United States.

Before his public service career, Duffy was a lumberjack competition athlete. He gained fame in the late 1990s by appearing on MTV reality TV.

The New York Times (NYT) reported that Silicon Valley elites, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, recommended technology executive Emil Michael for Secretary of Transportation, but he was unsuccessful.