Sean Duffy, Former Congressman and '90s Star of MTV's “Real World”, Sworn in as Transportation Secretary Hours Before American Airlines Crash

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who was sworn into the Cabinet position on Jan. 29, pledged to improve travel safety at his confirmation hearing two weeks before an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter over the Potomac River on Wednesday evening, becoming one of the deadliest aviation disasters in U.S. history.

Duffy, 53, a former Wisconsin congressman, Fox Business host and alumni of MTV's The Real World, said at his confirmation hearing on Jan. 15 that President Donald Trump wanted to invest in rebuilding "our nation’s crumbling infrastructure." The politician said that he would work to whittle down the "red tape" that slows change in infrastructure projects, prioritize road safety to eradicate preventable accidents and add more air traffic controllers.

"Safety is paramount. Every year, 40,000 lives are lost in roadway accidents. This hits close to home — my wife survived a deadly head-on car crash, which profoundly shaped her life. If confirmed, I will prioritize road safety, ensuring lives and families aren’t forever changed by preventable accidents," Duffy said then, according to his testimony prepared for delivery, while referring to Rachel Campos-Duffy, a fellow Real World alum and Fox News personality.

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"In aviation, safety will remain the top priority. America needs more air traffic controllers. The best and the brightest," he continued. "We must modernize our systems with cutting-edge technology. I will work with Congress and the FAA to restore global confidence in Boeing and to ensure our skies are safe. Transportation is entering an extraordinary new era. From eVTOLs, drones and autonomous vehicles to space travel, we are in a global race to out-innovate the rest of the world. If confirmed, we will craft clear regulations that balance safety, innovation, and cutting-edge technology."

CNN described Duffy as one of Trump's "least controversial Cabinet nominees" and noted that he was unanimously approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology, with confirmation by the Senate in a 77-22 vote on Tuesday.

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Duffy was sworn in as the transportation secretary by Vice President J.D. Vance in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29 during a ceremony attended by Campos-Duffy and their family. The couple are parents to nine children — the youngest of which was born in 2019 — and met while starring on the MTV reality series spinoff Road Rules: All Stars in 1998. (Campos-Duffy originally appeared on The Real World: San Francisco, the third installment of the reality franchise.)

The new secretary's official bio outlines that he got his TV start in his 20s on The Real World, appearing on the Boston edition of the show's sixth season alongside housemates Jason Cornwell, Montana McGlynn, Kameelah Phillips, Genesis Moss, Elka Walker and Syrus Yarbrough. In addition to All Stars, Duffy also appeared on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Season in 2002.

He later moved into law in his home state of Wisconsin, serving as the district attorney of Ashland County for a decade. Duffy then went on to serve in Congress, representing the state's 7th Congressional District, from 2011 to 2019. He later co-hosted The Bottom Line on Fox Business, taking him to the same broadcasting company where his wife co-hosts Fox & Friends Weekend on Fox News (overlapping in the role with the administration's new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth).

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About an hour after the deadly midair collision between the AA flight 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night, Duffy said on X that he had headed to the FAA headquarters and was closely monitoring the situation.

"May God rest the souls on that plane and in the helicopter and comfort their grieving families," he wrote in a post the following day, adding that he directed the Department of. Transportation and FAA to provide "full support" to the NTSB and all responding authorities.

On Thursday afternoon, Duffy spoke after Trump during a White House press briefing on the aviation disaster, extending condolences to the families affected and vowing that change would be made.

"What happened yesterday should not have happened. It should not have happened. When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination. That didn’t happen yesterday. That’s not acceptable, and so we will not accept excuses. We will not accept passing the buck," he said, in part. "We are going to take responsibility at the Department of Transportation and the FAA to make sure we have the reforms that have been dictated by President Trump in place to make sure that these mistakes do not happen again."

Duffy won't lead the investigation into the tragic crash, as the job falls to the National Transportation Safety Board with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration, CNN reported. However, during the briefing, Trump said that Duffy, who was on "his second day of the job when that happened," will be one of many "working tirelessly. He's a great gentleman."

The president added, "These are great people and they are working tirelessly to figure out exactly what happened."

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