President-elect Donald Trump continued his path of unexpected cabinet nominations Monday, announcing reality TV star-turned-Congressman—and current Fox News personality—Sean Duffy as his secretary of transportation.
“Thank you, Mr. President. I’m eager to help you usher in a new golden age of transportation,” Duffy posted in response, alongside a MAGA hashtag.
The choice marks the second Fox personality to be tapped by Trump, after the 78-year-old named Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defense last week. Duffy’s wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, is also Hegseth’s Fox & Friends Weekend co-host.
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Duffy himself is a host of the Fox Business Network program The Bottom Line, though according to CNN his last day was Monday.
He is also a former professional lumberjack athlete: a two-time world champion in the 90-foot speed climb and three-time champion in the 60-foot.
“Sean Duffy provided valuable insights and analysis in co-hosting the Fox Business Network program, The Bottom Line," Fox News Media told the Daily Beast in a statement. “As Duffy departs Fox News Media effective today, we wish him the best of luck in his return to Washington.”
The network announced The Bottom Line “will continue with Dagen McDowell joined by rotating co-hosts.”
The 53-year-old first gained notoriety as a reality TV star after featuring in The Real World: Boston, in 1997. A year later he competed on MTV’s Road Rules: All Stars, which was later renamed The Challenge. In 2002, he appeared in the fifth season of the show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons.
He moved into politics that same year, when he was appointed Ashland County District Attorney. He was then elected to the House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District in 2010.
Duffy is married to his Road Rules cast mate (and Fox & Friends Weekend co-host) Campos-Duffy.
After Hegseth’s nomination last week, Campos-Duffy defended her co-host after it was revealed that he was tagged as a potential “insider threat” by a fellow National Guardsman due to several tattoos that are favored by white nationalists. She denied that Hegseth was any kind of extremist, a position he has also repeatedly echoed.
“If he was a white supremacist, I think we’d know and I hope that he has the time, which I’m sure he doesn’t because he’s preparing for his hearings and everything before the Senate, that woman deserves to be sued. That is defamation,” Campos-Duffy said, referring to comments made by former NAACP Legal Defense Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill on MSNBC with Chris Hayes.
Duffy and his wife announced the birth of their ninth child—a daughter, Valentina StellaMaris Duffy—in 2019.
“She is the sweetest, most perfect thing we have ever seen,” Campos-Duffy said in an Instagram post. She also revealed her daughter was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and a heart condition. Later that year, Duffy announced his resignation from Congress.
His other children, Patrick Miguel, Margarita, Maria-Victoria Margarita, Paloma Pilar, John-Paul, Lucia-Belén, Xavier Jack and Evita Pilar, range in age from single digits to their early 20s.
“The husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News, and the father of nine incredible children, Sean knows how important it is for families to be able to travel safely, and with peace of mind,” Trump said in a statement.
“He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports,” Trump said in his announcement.
“He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.
“Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”
If elected by the Senate, Duffy will take the reins from the current Secretary, Pete Buttigieg.
