The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) as Secretary of the Department of Transportation by a vote of 77-22.
Duffy served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019 before resigning to become a lobbyist.
The Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation last week approved the nomination by a 28-0 vote.
In remarks made before last week's committee vote, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said that she was pleased that in response to questions before the Senate, Duffy "clarified for me and many others on the Committee that he is going to continue to work to expedite transportation infrastructure investments that have been made by this Congress and hopes to get these projects completed."
In a statement Tuesday after the Senate confirmation, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the commerce committee, said that Duffy displayed a "willingness to listen and learn to ensure that this vital department is operating at the highest level of safety and efficiency across all modes under its jurisdiction."
Airline lobbying group Airlines for America president and CEO Nicholas Calio in a statement Tuesday said that "many challenges face the aviation industry—the air traffic controller staffing shortage, aging [Federal Aviation Administration] technologies, capacity constraints and more—so it is vital that the DOT has a strong leader focused on tackling these critical issues."
"Former Congressman Sean Duffy will bring strong leadership to the Department of Transportation, an agency that serves a critical role in facilitating travel," U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a statement. "There is a significant opportunity ahead to strengthen and improve the travel process by modernizing our nation's travel infrastructure."