Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy returns to reality TV roots, sparking criticism and questions

Key Points:

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s new reality show, “The Great American Road Trip,” filmed over seven months with his family and funded by a nonprofit with corporate sponsors linked to the Department of Transportation, has drawn criticism amid high gas prices and ethics concerns.
• Duffy insists no taxpayer dollars funded his family’s participation and that production costs were covered by the nonprofit Great American Road Trip Inc., which includes sponsors such as Boeing, Shell, and Toyota.
• Critics, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and ethics groups, argue the show is tone-deaf given rising fuel costs and question the appropriateness of Duffy using government time for the project and potential conflicts of interest due to industry funding.
• The Department of Transportation stated that Duffy’s travel and related activities during the trip were part of his official duties, with government funds covering his individual travel but not family expenses, while the nonprofit covered other costs.
• Ethics advocates call for further investigation into whether the project was a proper use of government resources and the influence of industry sponsors, despite Duffy’s defense that the project complied with federal ethics rules.