Sean Duffy has been officially sworn in as the Secretary of Transportation of the United States following his approval by the US Senate, with the official now leading the Department of Transportation (DOT) during a challenging era for US airspace.
Hard at work
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas swore in Duffy at the US Supreme Court on January 28, with Duffy replacing the outgoing Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg . The DOT’s statement read that Duffy had already signed a memorandum to ‘reset’ the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, arguing that eliminating fuel standards would help Americans access cheaper vehicles.
Photo: DOT
Nevertheless, Duffy said he was deeply honored to have been selected by Donald Trump, the President of the US, to lead the DOT. Trump tapped Duffy to lead the governmental agency in November 2024.
“We are already hard at work executing the President’s vision to usher in a golden age of transportation by taking immediate action to remove government overreach and lower costs for hardworking Americans.”
Related President Trump Ousts The TSA Administrator He Appointed During His 1st Term In addition to the TSA, the FAA and DOT will have new leaders with the incoming Trump administration.
Government overreach
Duffy, who served in the US Congress between 2011 and 2019 and was a Fox News host before he was picked to lead the DOT by Trump, perhaps already hinted at the DOT’s agenda during his tenure at the Department with the “government overreach” comment.
The comments echo the statement that Ed Bastian, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines, had made before the carrier’s investor day in November 2024. Then, Bastian said that Trump had pledged to review the regulatory environment for airlines, including the “overreach our industry has experienced over the past four years.”
Photo: DOT
Other airline CEOs, including American Airlines’ Robert Isom and United Airlines’ Scott Kirby, shared similar views during their latest earnings calls without explicitly mentioning overreach. Isom expressed that the administration “will be very cognizant of regulatory issues that can benefit both the airlines and our customers,” while Kirby remarked that the Trump administration is focused on taking action that would unlock American innovation and entrepreneurialism.
“And that create — remove regulatory burdens and expand the economy.”
Related United & American CEOs Go Quiet On DEI After Trump Inauguration Both American Airlines and United Airlines did not directly answer whether they would change their DEI policies in the wake of the new administration.
Aviation agenda
However, whether Duffy’s term at the helm of the DOT will result in eroded customer protections against cancelations, delays, and flight disruptions, as well as ‘junk fees,’ remains to be seen, the new Secretary of Transportation has already outlined some of his priorities during a confirmation hearing at the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on January 15.
For example, Duffy said that he would keep the Boeing 737 MAX production cap in check, which was implemented by Mike Whitaker, the former administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ).
“The cap will be maintained and will be lifted when I, in consultation with the career safety experts at FAA and the Administrator, have confidence that a production increase will not reduce the quality of the aircraft being produced.”
When Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, pointed out that the Trump-linked ‘Project 2025’ called for a rule that curtailed the DOT’s regulation of airlines’ unfair and deceptive practices to be reinstated, and asked Duffy whether he would commit to ensuring that the Department provides “vigorous oversight and enforcement of aviation consumer protection regulations and standards,” Duffy simply answered “yes.”
Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock
Nevertheless, both Democrats and Republicans, as well as airline CEOs, have expressed their concerns about the state of the National Airspace System (NAS), particularly the lack of air traffic controllers (ATC) across the country.
The now-sworn Secretary of Transportation vowed to support maximum hiring targets for ATCs, with the funding being provisioned by the FAA Reauthorization Act in 2024, in front of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
On January 22, the White House issued a statement Trump signed a memorandum terminating the FAA’s hiring policy of allegedly prioritizing hiring according to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies rather than safety and efficiency without providing proof that had been the case during the Biden administration.
Duffy will also have to appoint leadership at the FAA, which currently has no Administrator or Deputy Administrator. Whitaker left the regulator on January 20, the same day that Trump was inaugurated as the President of the US.