Trump’s Latest Cabinet Pick: Ex-Fox Host Sean Duffy for Transportation Secretary

In a move that continues his trend of selecting Fox News personalities for key roles, President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that Sean Duffy, a former Republican congressman and Fox Business host, will serve as the Secretary of Transportation in his administration.

“I am pleased to announce that Sean Duffy, from the great state of Wisconsin, has been nominated to serve as the Secretary of Transportation,” Trump stated.

He highlighted Duffy’s past roles, including District Attorney in Ashland, Wisconsin, and his tenure representing Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House. However, critics question whether this background sufficiently prepares Duffy for overseeing the nation’s complex transportation infrastructure.

Duffy resigned from Congress in 2019 to focus on his family after learning that one of his children had a congenital heart condition. While his decision was widely respected, his time in the House was marked more by his vocal support for Trump than by significant legislative achievements.

He defended Trump’s controversial 2017 executive order banning nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S., describing it as a “90-day pause” during a CNN appearance.

Trump lauded Duffy’s Congressional record on fiscal responsibility, economic growth, and rural development, but critics argue that his qualifications for leading the Department of Transportation remain unclear.

Duffy, who has spent recent years hosting the Fox Business evening show “The Bottom Line”, has little experience in transportation policy or infrastructure management—two critical areas for the role he’s set to assume.

The announcement underscores a pattern in Trump’s Cabinet selections: drawing heavily from the ranks of Fox News. Duffy becomes the fourth Fox host to be tapped for a position in Trump’s administration, joining others like Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for Defense Secretary.

The overlap between the conservative media network and Trump’s government raises concerns about the influence of media loyalty over merit in these appointments.

Notably, Duffy’s wife, Rachel Campos Duffy, is also a Fox News host and co-anchor of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” another tie between the administration and the network. The couple met on a reality TV show, adding a layer of celebrity appeal that has frequently been a feature of Trump’s political circle.

Critics point to Duffy’s limited policy expertise as emblematic of Trump’s approach to governance, where media savvy often outweighs substantive experience. “Sean Duffy provided valuable insights and analysis on ‘The Bottom Line,’” Fox stated in its announcement of his departure, though even this endorsement frames Duffy more as a commentator than a policy expert.

As Duffy prepares to lead the Department of Transportation, he faces the daunting challenge of managing crumbling infrastructure, modernizing transit systems, and navigating the complexities of federal transportation policies.

Critics argue that these responsibilities require deep policy knowledge, which Duffy has yet to demonstrate in his career.

While supporters claim Duffy’s communication skills and familiarity with rural development are assets, detractors see this nomination as another example of Trump prioritizing loyalty and media affiliation over qualifications.

Whether Duffy can rise to the occasion remains to be seen, but his selection has reignited debates about the role of media figures in shaping the nation’s governance.