Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday and left two Democratic senators on the defensive after turning their ethics accusations into a line-by-line accounting of their own campaign contributions.
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) questioned Duffy over his “Great American Road Trip,” a family vacation filmed over eight months and turned into a five-part YouTube series. The trip was funded by a nonprofit whose corporate donors included Boeing, Toyota, United Airlines, Enterprise, Shell and Royal Caribbean Group, companies all regulated by the Department of Transportation.
“Your vacation was paid for by Boeing, Toyota, United Airlines, Enterprise, Shell, Royal Caribbean Group,” Gillibrand told Duffy at the hearing. “This road trip doesn’t smell right. I think it’s wrong, and I think you should explain to the American people why you should be getting a vacation that is paid for by companies that you regulate.”
Murray called the show “incredibly out of touch” while Americans deal with gas prices inflated by the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran. She noted Duffy’s department also oversees Toyota for potential safety recalls.
Duffy defended the arrangement, telling senators no taxpayer funds were used and that a career ethics official had cleared his participation. He said the project was tied to a congressional directive to promote tourism and celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.
“No one gets anything from me,” Duffy said of the corporate donors. He added that neither he nor any family member received salary or production royalties from the project.
The secretary then turned to his questioners. “If someone from the healthcare industry gives you $2 million, what do they get for it?” Duffy asked Murray. “Pfizer gave you $102,000.”
He told Gillibrand that her campaign received $7 million in contributions from law firms and attorney groups, suggesting the same standard applied to both sides. Gillibrand rejected the comparison. “This hearing is about you and this administration,” she said. “You are the witness. I am not the witness.”
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed an ethics complaint asking the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General to investigate whether the arrangement violated federal gift and travel rules. The complaint noted a Toyota vehicle appears prominently in the series’ promotional video.
