Kristie Boyd, U.S. House Office of Photography/House Creative Services / Wikimedia Commons
CV NEWS FEED // Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy toured the damage from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Tennessee Monday, coordinating with local officials to begin massive repairs.
In an interview with Fox News, Duffy said many storm victims “feel forgotten” after Helene destroyed their communities and a major section of I-40.
“Many of the communities here in western North Carolina, they feel forgotten,” said Duffy, who grew up in small-town America. “They feel like their federal government doesn’t care. Their state governments haven’t cared about them.”
“I think with this administration they understand that they might be from a small town, they might not be the richest people, but you know what? We have not forgotten about them because they’re Americans and they deserve our help and our aid,” Duffy said. “And we’re going to provide it to them.”
Duffy is a pro-life Catholic husband and father of nine.
He was confirmed by the Senate late January, previously representing a “mostly rural congressional district based in northwestern Wisconsin from 2011 until he resigned in 2019 to take care of his then-newborn youngest child, who has special needs,” CatholicVote reported.
In a video posted Monday to X, Duffy stood on I-40 with Tennessee Republican Sen. Bill Haggerty. Both men stressed the need for the federal and state governments to work together.
Haggerty said, “I’m so pleased to see Secretary Duffy here today taking bold action to make certain that we’re working together, that we’re using common sense, [and to] make certain that we deliver as quickly and efficiently as possible here in Tennessee.”
Duffy recently announced that his leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will prioritize safety and efficiency.
In an interview on Fox News, Duffy criticized how his department was run under President Joe Biden. “The problem is, they were focusing on … the environment, EVs, changing language for social justice,” Duffy said. “They want to be politically correct, and when you don’t focus on your systems and your safety, bad things happen.”
“Under my leadership, the woke policies are gone,” Duffy posted on X.
Duffy plans to update the U.S. transportation system, installing more advanced technology to ensure safer and more effective transportation.
“You’re not going to have canceled flights or delayed flights. You’re going to have an air traffic control system that works,” he said. He plans to offer air traffic controllers a chance to stay past the mandatory retirement age of 56, along with bonuses and increased pay to keep reliable air controllers on the job.
Wisconsin Republican strategist Mark Graul, who has known Duffy for over 25 years, described the new transportation secretary as empathic and approachable, according to the Associated Press.
“His family is the center of the universe,” Graul said, “and more than most politicians he cares a great deal about being successful.”
