Sean Duffy

**Sean Patrick Duffy** (born October 3, 1971) is an American politician, prosecutor, former sports commentator, and personality. Duffy has been the 20th United States Secretary of Transportation since 2025. He was also the Acting Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2025. He was the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party.

Duffy was a cast member on _The Real World: Boston_, 1998's _Road Rules: All Stars_, and 2002's _Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons_, before going on to serve as district attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin. He was a CNN and Fox News political commentator.

Duffy resigned from Congress on September 23, 2019. In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump named Duffy as his nominee for secretary of transportation in his second presidency.

## Early life

Duffy was born on October 3, 1971, in Hayward, Wisconsin. He studied at St. Mary's University and at William Mitchell College of Law.

Duffy, a Republican, was made Ashland County District Attorney in 2002. He was reelected in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008.

## Television career

In 1997, Duffy appeared on _The Real World: Boston_, the sixth season of the MTV reality television show, and on _Road Rules: All Stars_ in 1998, where he met his future wife Rachel Campos. Duffy later appeared on _Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons_, which aired in 2002. Duffy was also a ESPN commentator.

In December 2022 Duffy and Dagen McDowell were named co-hosts of _The Bottom Line_, a show on Fox Business.

## U.S. House of Representatives

In July 2009, Duffy announced his campaign for Congress in Wisconsin's seventh congressional district. In June 2010, Duffy announced his resignation as Ashland County District Attorney. He won the race on November 2, 2010. He was re-elected from 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

In 2011, Duffy voted to end Davis–Bacon Act. Duffy was on the Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood.

Duffy supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to add a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

Duffy resigned his seat on September 23, 2019, to take care for a newborn daughter with health issues.

## U.S. Secretary of Transportation

On November 18, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate Duffy to be his secretary of transportation for his second presidency.

During his hearing on January 15, 2025, he said that if confirmed, his first trip as transportation secretary would be to the Appalachian mountain regions of Tennessee and North Carolina, where flooding from Hurricane Helene damaged major interstate highways and bridges. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved his nomination in a 28–0 vote on January 22. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination in a 77–22 vote on January 28. Duffy was sworn in by United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas a few hours later.

In his first act in office on January 29, Duffy made his department end and replace all existing corporate average fuel economy standards and ended the electric vehicle mandate. On his first official day in office, Duffy responded to the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision and opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.

In March 2025, _The New York Times_ reported that Duffy had a fight with Elon Musk during a White House cabinet meeting. The secretary criticized DOGE's pressure to fire air traffic controllers at a time when his department was having many air accidents.

On July 9, 2025, Trump named Duffy as the acting Administrator of NASA, replacing acting administrator Janet Petro.

## Personal life

In 1999, Duffy married Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. Duffy is a Roman Catholic. They live in Weston, Wisconsin.

## Other websites

- Congressman Sean Duffy  official U.S. House website
- Sean Duffy for Congress

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Sean Duffy
- **image**: Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy Official Portrait.jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2025
- **order**: 20th
- **office**: United States Secretary of Transportation
- **president**: Donald Trump
- **deputy**: Steven G. Bradbury
- **term start**: January 28, 2025
- **predecessor**: Pete Buttigieg
- **office1**: Administrator of NASA, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- **status1**: Acting
- **president1**: Donald Trump
- **term start1**: July 9, 2025
- **term end1**: December 18, 2025
- **predecessor1**: Janet Petro (acting)
- **successor1**: Jared Isaacman
- **state2**: Wisconsin
- **term start2**: January 3, 2011
- **term end2**: September 23, 2019
- **predecessor2**: Dave Obey
- **successor2**: Tom Tiffany
- **office3**: District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin, Ashland County
- **term start3**: August 1, 2002
- **term end3**: July 9, 2010
- **predecessor3**: Michael Gableman
- **successor3**: Kelly McKnight
- **birth name**: Sean Patrick Duffy
- **birth place**: Hayward, Wisconsin, U.S.
- **party**: Republican Party (United States), Republican
- **children**: 9
- **relatives**: Leah Campos (sister-in-law)