Categories: Cars

Trump Announces Sean Duffy As the Next Transportation Secretary

Big changes are in store for the Department of Transportation. President-elect Trump announced Sean Duffy as his pick for transportation secretary, a move that will help the incoming president in his goal to roll back Biden’s vehicle emissions standards and could spell major shifts in how the government regulates autonomous vehicles.

Duffy, a former Fox Business News host and Wisconsin congressional representative, wrote about the announcement on social media, saying, “I’m eager to help you usher in a new golden age of transportation.” Trump laid out an idyllic view of the country’s infrastructure development under Duffy, promising that he would focus on “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.” Trump wants to unravel Biden’s emissions rules, which aim to cut tailpipe emissions by 50 percent by 2023 and motivate automakers to develop new EVs.

Beyond what will likely be seismic shifts in how the Department conducts its business, Duffy has quite a few challenges ahead of him. Traffic deaths remain elevated, and the ongoing Boeing saga will require attention. Perhaps most interestingly, Duffy will have control over the USDOT’s Tesla investigations and have input into the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) SpaceX oversight, which recently proposed a fine for the company’s violation of license rules. Elon Musk has said the FAA’s administrator, Mike Whitaker, should resign, making his future uncertain under a friendly Transportation Secretary.

[Images: Anna Moneymaker via Shutterstock, Tesla, Shutterstock]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

Source: The Truth About Cars

WBN