The US Senate overwhelmingly confirmed ex-Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as President Trump’s transportation secretary Tuesday, adding another former Fox News personality to the cabinet.
Duffy, 53, cleared the upper chamber in a 77-22 vote after his nomination received the approval of all 28 members of the Senate Commerce Committee.
“Sean is the right person for this job,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), a member of the panel, said of Trump’s nom, pointing to the ex-congressman’s success in whipping up bipartisan support for federal funding of the St. Croix Crossing, a bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“Admired across the aisle, Sean worked with Democrats to clear extensive Legislative hurdles to build the largest road and bridge project in Minnesota History,” Trump said in a statement announcing his pick Nov. 18.
“He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports. 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,” Trump added.
It’s unclear whether Duffy will also join the commander-in-chief in moving to “kill” New York’s controversial congestion pricing initiative. He was never asked about the issue during his confirmation hearing.
Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis has previously suggested to The Post that congestion pricing could be resolved if the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration knocked Empire State officials for failing to file an environmental impact statement — and revoked the tax.
Duffy will be in charge of the Transportation Department’s more than 55,000 employees and oversee the nation’s rail, transit and other infrastructure, with a budget of roughly $110 billion available to him.
The new transportation secretary has pledged to focus in particular on rail safety after the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment that spewed toxic chemicals into East Palestine, Ohio, adding that he was looking forward to discussing solutions with Trump, 78, and Vice President JD Vance, who represented the Buckeye State in the Senate.
Duffy will also get to make use of funds from former President Joe Biden’s 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law — including for construction of electric vehicle charging apparatuses that have been derided by lawmakers on both sides of aisle for falling short of projected goals.
The former Republican rep was a firm defender of the first Trump administration’s immigration and trade policies — and a fierce critic of his predecessor, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, during the 2022 airline travel snafu that canceled more than 15,000 flights.
Duffy, who represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District from 2011 to 2019, also previously served as a prosecutor and co-host of the evening Fox Business Network program “The Bottom Line.” Rachel Campos-Duffy, his wife, co-hosts “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
“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 also said upon announcing Duffy’s nomination.
Duffy left Congress before the end of his fifth term when his newborn daughter suffered a heart defect in 2019, and she and her siblings later stole the show in pics snapped during their dad’s confirmation hearing.
Fellow Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, another nom with a large family, was confirmed as defense secretary by a 51-50 vote in the Senate Friday.
Trump tangled with his past transportation secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), after she resigned in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
In a bizarre, racially charged rant two years ago, the once and future president accused Chao and McConnell of being secret allies of then-President Joe Biden — and, by extension, of China.
“Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden’s Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown?” he wrote on Truth Social in December 2022. “Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China.”
Chao, who immigrated from Taiwan to America with her family when she was 8 years old, became a naturalized citizen at 19.
