Duffy

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that his department is taking management of Union Station, the main transportation hub in Washington, away from Amtrak, in another example of how the federal government is exerting its power over the nation’s capital.

Duffy made the announcement in a statement before he joined Amtrak President Roger Harris at Union Station for the launch of the NextGen Acela, the rail service’s new high-speed train.

The secretary said Union Station, located within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol, had “fallen into disrepair” when it should be a “point of pride” for the city.

“By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost,” Duffy said.

At the event, Duffy said President Trump has been “pretty clear” about what he wants.

“He wants Union Station to be beautiful again. He wants transit to be safe again. And he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that,” Duffy said.

Duffy echoed the Republican president, who said last week he wants $2 billion from Congress to beautify Washington as part of his crackdown on the city. The Republican president has sent thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials into Washington in a bid to fight violent crime he claimed had strangled the city.

Local police department statistics show violent crime in Washington has declined in recent years, but Trump has countered, without offering evidence, that the numbers were fudged.

National Guard troops have been on patrol inside and outside of Union Station after Trump launched the anti-crime effort earlier this month. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were shouted down by opponents of the federal intervention when they visited with troops there last week.

During Wednesday’s train unveiling, Duffy will also talk about what the administration is doing to turn Union Station into a world class transit hub, according to a Transportation Department news advisory.

Duffy had pressed Amtrak about crime at Union Station in a March letter to its chief operating officer and requested an updated plan on how it intended to improve public safety there.

Superville writes for the Associated Press.

Aug. 26 (UPI) — California, Washington, and New Mexico will lose federal funding unless they adopt and enforce English language proficiency requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced Tuesday.

The three states have 30 days to comply before the department will withhold up to 100% of funding from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, a press release from the Transportation Department said.

“We have wonderful tools that will make it very difficult for states to do business if they don’t comply,” Duffy said at the press conference.

In May, Duffy signed new guidance for commercial motor vehicle drivers who don’t follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s English-language proficiency requirements and will be placed out of service.

“States don’t get to pick and choose which federal safety rules to follow,” Duffy said in the statement. “As we saw with the horrific Florida crash that killed three, when states fail to enforce the law, they put the driving public in danger. Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, we are taking aggressive action to close these safety gaps, hold states accountable, and make sure every commercial driver on the road is qualified to operate a 40-ton vehicle.”

Duffy spoke at a press conference where he referenced the Aug. 18 truck crash on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie, Fla. The crash killed three people, and it was determined that the driver of the truck didn’t understand English road signs, Duffy said. The driver, Harjinder Singh, 28, is from California. He was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and is being held on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.

California has not adopted or enforced the law to ensure drivers can speak and understand English, the press release said. Washington and New Mexico have adopted the ELP regulation but are not enforcing it, Duffy said.

July 10 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Monday named Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to also serve as interim NASA administrator.

Janet Petro, a former leader of the Kennedy Space Center, has been the agency’s acting administrator since Trump became president on Jan. 20. The administrator reports directly to the president.

“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. “He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean.”

Duffy, a lawyer and broadcaster who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2002 to 2010, has no science background.

“Honored to accept this mission,” Duffy posted on X. “Time to take over space. Let’s launch.”

The president hasn’t nominated anyone for the agency after he withdrew billionaire Jared Isaacman’s name to lead NASA, citing a “thorough review of prior associations.”

The nomination was withdrawn on May 31, before the Senate was expected to vote on the nomination of Isaacman, who has twice traveled to space on private missions.

It was withdrawn on the day SpaceX chief Elon Musk left the White House after leading the Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Sunday, said it was “inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life.”

In the message, Trump said he was “saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”

The proposed 2026 fiscal year budget for NASA is $18.8 billion, which is a 25% reduction on overall funding and the smallest since 1961 when Alan Shepard became the first American in space.

There are 17,000 permanent civil service employees with headquarters in Washington. Major locations are the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Johnson Space Center in Texas, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, the Langley Research Center in Virginia, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

NASA relies on SpaceX to send its astronauts to the International Space Center.

The agency also primarily uses private contractors and suppliers to build its rockets and related systems.

The Department of Transportation has 57,000 employees, including the Federal Aviation Administration, safety of commercial motor vehicles and truckers, public transportation, railroads and maritime transport and ports.

Several other political appointees are serving in multiple roles, according to NBC News.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio currently serves as the interim national security adviser and national archivist.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is the acting head of the Library of Congress.

Jamieson Greer is the U.S. trade representative, acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and acting special counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Russell Vought is director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Richard Grenell, a special U.S.envoy, is president the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

And Daniel Driscoll is secretary of the Army and the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The Trump administration has launched a compliance review into California’s high-speed rail project, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday.

The review will focus on $4 billion promised by the Biden administration for continued construction in the Central Valley between Merced and Bakersfield and will determine the outlook of future federal funding commitments for the train, which has faced ongoing challenges related to budget and timeline.

“We can’t just say we’re going to give money and then not hold states accountable to how they spend that money — how they spend it per the agreements that they made with the federal government,” Duffy said at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. “If California wants to continue to invest, that’s fine, but we in the Trump administration are going to take a look at whether this project is worthy of a continual investment.”

Duffy said that the department would also review grants attached to environmental and social justice initiatives.

The announcement comes days after Republican lawmakers urged President Trump to investigate the high-speed rail line and after he and Cabinet leaders signaled they would examine the project.

“We welcome this investigation and the opportunity to work with our federal partners,” said Ian Choudri, chief executive of the High-Speed Rail Authority. “With multiple independent federal and state audits completed, every dollar is accounted for, and we stand by the progress and impact of this project. … This investment has already generated $22 billion in economic impact, primarily benefiting the Central Valley.”

The authority has said that roughly $13 billion has been spent on the project and that the majority has been funded through the state; Duffy said that $15.7 billion has been spent on the project. The numbers differ because the authority is using total spending to date, where as the federal department’s estimate includes forecasted spending through the end of the fiscal year.

During the news conference, chants from protesters on the other side of a curtain that separated the news conference from the train station drowned out comments from Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) and other lawmakers who are against the high-speed rail project.

Jesse Budlong, a transportation planner who attended the protest, called the location of the announcement a political grandstand against transit users who rely on public transportation.

“We weren’t expecting anything positive today,” he said. “The programs are audited every month and year by multiple departments and agencies, so I don’t think they’re necessarily going to find anything that’s shocking.”

Duffy told protesters to take their frustrations to state leaders.

“If you want to go protest somewhere, if you want to shout at someone, go to the governor’s mansion. Go talk to Democrats in the Legislature who have brought us this crappy project,” he said.

Transportation labor leaders took issue with Duffy’s comments.

“As America’s largest transportation labor federation, representing thousands of rail and building trades workers who will build, operate, and maintain the California High-Speed Rail System, we strongly disagree with Secretary Duffy’s remarks that this is ‘a crappy project’ and ‘a train to nowhere’,” Greg Regan and Shari Semelsberger, president and secretary-treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, respectively, said in a statement.

“Just last year, President Trump complained that the United States does not have bullet trains similar to Japan. We agree with him that it is past time for our country to have these kinds of modern, efficient, high-capacity transportation systems. We also realize that those nations with bullet trains are ones who prioritized and paid for them. We are the wealthiest country in the world, and Americans deserve world-class trains right here at home.”

Although the entire line between San Francisco to Los Angeles was environmentally cleared for construction last year, the project has faced massive challenges. The budget is roughly $100 billion more than the authority’s original $33-billion estimate, and leaders have yet to identify tens of billions of dollars needed to finish it. The train was initially pitched for a 2020 launch; instead, construction has been limited to a 171-mile stretch in the Central Valley and no part has been completed.

The obstacles have been acknowledged by board members and transit leaders, and a state-appointed peer review group that advises the authority has suggested the plan be reexamined. Private sector investments have been flagged as necessary for the project’s survival.

Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who sits on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, is concerned over the large-scale effect the potential federal defunding of high-speed rail may have across the state.

“This is not an administration that seems to be favorable toward transit and toward California,” she said, adding that the absence of federal funding would require further taxpayer support to complete projects already underway. “It would mean that in order to finish these projects, people would have to spend even more of their own money, their own tax dollars, at a time where it’s really important that we give people relief and bring down the cost of living.”

Trump slammed the high-speed rail project this month, calling it “mismanaged.” In response, the High-Speed Rail Authority posted a progress report on X.

“Ignore the noise. We’re busy building,” the post said, highlighting the project’s environmental clearance for construction between Los Angeles and San Francisco, construction in the Central Valley and more than 14,000 jobs the project has provided.

California’s high-speed rail endeavor has been targeted by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by Elon Musk. In a post on X in December, it highlighted the $6.8 billion the project has received in federal funding, and the authority’s request for an additional $8 billion. Musk said last year that billions of dollars have been spent on high-speed rail “for practically nothing.”

The first Trump administration tried to claw back roughly $1 billion promised by the Obama administration. The authority and state leaders are prepared to keep moving forward.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom and transportation officials tied the state’s high-speed rail line with the privately owned Brightline West train, which would connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas, and announced the two may someday connect. Duffy said Thursday that Brightline could be “worthy of investment.”

WASHINGTON —  President Trump on Thursday responded to the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades by blaming diversity initiatives for undermining safety and questioning the actions of a U.S. Army helicopter pilot involved in the midair collision with a commercial airliner.

Sixty-seven people are believed to have died in the crash, which occurred while an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kan., was landing at Washington Reagan National Airport. As Trump spoke, the federal investigation was just beginning and first responders were still trying to recover bodies from the Potomac River.

Officials have not established the reason for the collision, and Trump acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the country to pray for the victims. But then he indulged his penchant for division, grievance and speculation at a time when Americans usually look to the presidency for comfort, assurance and facts.

“Some really bad things happened and some things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” the Republican president said from the White House briefing room, just over three miles from the scene of the disaster.

He blamed former President Biden’s administration, claiming it encouraged the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit workers “who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.”

Trump did not share any evidence that unqualified people were being put in critical positions like air traffic control, and he acknowledged that there was no indication that air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport made any mistakes.

Asked why he was blaming diversity initiatives, Trump said “because I have common sense, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”

Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be brilliant to ensure safety.

“They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,” he said. “You can’t have regular people doing their job.”

Trump complained specifically about Pete Buttigieg, who was Biden’s transportation secretary, calling him “a disaster.”

“He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said, adding profanity to his description of Buttigieg.

Buttigieg responded in a post on X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.”

“As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,” he added.

The plane crash marked the first major disaster of Trump’s new term, and his response evoked his frequent — and controversial — briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. His handling of the pandemic helped sour voters on him as he failed to win reelection in 2020.

Democrats criticized Trump’s remarks on Thursday.

“It’s one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracy theories, it’s another for the president of the United States,” said Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York.

Trump began his remarks by telling the families of the dead that “our hearts are shattered alongside yours.” He later said “we do not know what led to this crash but we have some very strong opinions,” and he proceeded to hold forth at length about what happened.

He wondered if the helicopter pilot was wearing nightvision goggles, declared that “you had a pilot problem” and that the helicopter was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad.” He questioned why the Army pilot didn’t change course, saying that “you can stop a helicopter very quickly.”

He also mused about the air traffic controller, saying of the two aircraft, “for whatever reason they were at the same elevation,” adding “they should have been at a different height.”

Vice President JD Vance, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all lined up behind Trump to praise his leadership and echo his concerns about diversity programs and hiring.

“When you don’t have the best standards in who you’re hiring, it means on the one hand, you’re not getting the best people in government,” Vance said, “But on the other hand, it puts stresses on the people who are already there.”

Trump made a point to tell Duffy, who was sworn in on Tuesday as Buttigieg’s replacement, “It’s not your fault.” Duffy took the White House podium alongside Trump and declared, “When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination.” Duffy added, “We will not accept excuses.”

Trump signed an executive order ending diversity initiatives at the FAA soon after taking office last week. He also gutted an advisory committee on aviation safety that was created after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Federal officials have been raising concerns for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports.

“While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is showing clear signs of strain that we cannot ignore,” Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told lawmakers in 2023.

Aviation experts issued a report around the same time saying that the FAA needs better staffing, equipment and technology.

Miller and Megerian write for the Associated Press.

“We’re going to have a Transportation secretary here who is a much better steward of taxpayer dollars but also will make sure the taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and actually go to the places where the administration needs them to go,” Vance said before swearing in Duffy.

Duffy, 53, thanked Vance, President Donald Trump and his wife, Rachel, who held the Bible upon which Duffy placed his left hand while taking the oath of office.

“We are gonna usher in the golden age of transportation,” Duffy told media and attendees.

“We’re going to work on efficiency, making sure our infrastructure actually works for the American people, for the American family, making sure you can get to and from work in a timely fashion.”

He said the Transportation Department will work on congestion and air space to make air travel faster, so people don’t have to wait a long time in airports prior to their flights.

Duffy also said he wants to make the United States the world leader in innovative and emerging transportation technologies.

“We are in one of the most innovative spaces, whether it’s drones or autonomous vehicle … or Ubers in the air,” Duffy said. “We are in a race to beat the rest of the world.”

In addition to his wife, Duffy was joined by seven of their nine children during the swearing-in ceremony at 12:30 p.m. EST at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C.

Duffy was a Republican member of the House of Representatives for Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019 and is a former prosecutor and former transportation industry lobbyist.

He also was a cast member on MTV’s The Real World, where he met his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy.

NEW YORK —  Sean Duffy was confirmed Tuesday as Transportation secretary, giving him a key role in helping President Trump cut regulations and fix the nation’s infrastructure.

The former Wisconsin congressman has promised safer planes, less regulation and help for U.S. companies developing self-driving cars — while not giving any breaks to Elon Musk, a key player in that technology and a top Trump advisor.

Duffy, a 53-year-old former reality TV star, was approved with bipartisan support on a 77-22 vote in the Senate.

He takes over the Department of Transportation at a crucial time for the agency, a massive employer of more than 55,000 that spends tens of billions of dollars annually, oversees the nation’s highways, railroads and airspace and sets safety standards for trains, cars and trucks.

At his confirmation hearing this month, Duffy vowed to “restore global confidence” in Boeing, hire more air traffic controllers, cut diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the Transportation Department and create federal guidelines for self-driving cars instead of leaving regulation to a patchwork of state rules that critics say is holding back development.

One of the biggest beneficiaries to a such a regulatory overhaul would be Musk. The stock price of his electric vehicle maker, Tesla, has soared since Trump was elected, based on hopes that unified federal rules will be passed. Investors also expect the Transportation Department’s investigations into Tesla to be eased now that Musk is a key advisor to the president.

But when pressed by senators in hearings, Duffy promised to hold firm.

“I will let NHTSA do its investigation,” said Duffy, referring to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency in his department in charge of probes and crackdowns on carmakers.

China came up several times at Duffy’s confirmation hearing as a threat to U.S. development of self-driving technology overseen by the Transportation Department. A big Chinese electric vehicle maker, BYD, is taking market share from Tesla in China and Europe.

“Without clear rules, or [with] a patchwork of rules state by state, we put ourselves behind those countries that allow innovators to expand and grow,” Duffy said at his hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. “We are in direct competition with China.”

The agency has several open investigations into the safety of Tesla vehicles, some focusing on what the company calls Full Self-Driving, a misnomer because the vehicles require human intervention at any moment. In October, NHTSA launched a probe into the self-driving system of 2.4 million Teslas after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.

Musk, the world’s richest man, has dubbed himself Trump’s “first buddy,” and gave an estimated $250 million to Trump’s presidential campaign.

Duffy’s decisions at the department will have a direct impact on profits not only at Tesla but at Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, which has billions of dollars in contracts with federal agencies. The Transportation Department’s Federal Aviation Administration has occasionally fined the company for violations, including $633,000 last year for alleged safety violations during two Florida launches.

Condon writes for the Associated Press.

Back in 2001, few politicians gave much thought to Joe Rogan — or even knew his name. They might have heard something about “Fear Factor,” the crass show on NBC where people ate sheep eyeballs and submerged themselves in containers teeming with rats in hopes of winning $50,000.

But the idea that the show’s blandly macho host would become one of the most influential figures in American life would have seemed as ridiculous as, well, Donald Trump getting elected president. Twice.

Nearly a quarter-century later, Rogan hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the world, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” During the 2024 election, it became one of the most sought-after bookings for politicians seeking to court younger male voters, despite — or perhaps because of — Rogan’s history of spouting misinformation on vaccines, COVID-19, trans people and other topics.

Although it’s too soon to know exactly what went wrong for Democrats in 2024, Rogan’s lengthy interview with and subsequent endorsement of Trump in the final weeks of the campaign already feels like a watershed moment. Many liberals believe they need to find a progressive version of Joe Rogan in order to combat Trump 2.0. They might start looking outside the traditional party structure and turning to a medium that has become a breeding ground for influencers on the right: reality TV.

Rogan is one of many influential figures in the conservative media ecosystem and the so-called manosphere who rose to prominence in reality TV, daytime talk shows and other forms of alternative entertainment. And as Trump gears up for a second term in office, he is casting his new administration like a reboot of “The Surreal Life.”

Shortly after his win in November, Trump nominated former Congressman Sean Duffy, who starred in Season 6 of “The Real World” and went on to win multiple seasons of the spinoff show now known as “The Challenge,” for secretary of Transportation.

“Maybe he’ll pick one of the ‘Teen Moms’ to be secretary of Labor!” joked Jimmy Kimmel, who described Duffy as “one of his least embarrassing picks.”

Trump also tapped Mark Burnett, the TV producer whose fateful decision to cast the serially bankrupt Trump as a successful businessman in “The Apprentice” paved the way for his first White House run, as special envoy to the United Kingdom.

Television producer Mark Burnett, left, with President Trump in 2017.

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the cardiothoracic surgeon known for touting dubious cures such as green coffee beans and colloidal silver on his daytime talk show, is in line to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency that provides healthcare coverage to more than 160 million Americans. Longtime Trump supporter and failed senatorial candidate Linda McMahon, former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, may soon be running the Department of Education, an agency that Trump has pledged to eliminate.

Nor is the reach of reality TV limited to formal administration appointments. Dr. Drew Pinsky, known for appearing on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab,” is now a conservative talking head who regularly sits down with the likes of Laura Ingraham and Alex Jones. Podcast bro Theo Von, who formerly starred on “Road Rules,” “The Challenge” and “Last Comic Standing,” also interviewed Trump last year on his show, “This Past Weekend,” which is not overtly political but attracts a young, male demographic that increasingly skews right.

“People will vote for someone like Donald Trump because they just think he’s real and authentic” despite his long history of dishonesty, says Nelini Stamp, director of strategy for the Working Families Party and creator of the Real Housewives of Politics, an Instagram account that uses Bravo memes to spread a progressive message. To them, being real “means you say what you want, usually the first thing that comes out of your head.” In other words: acting like someone on reality TV.

Of course, Trump is a creature of reality TV himself, someone who not only rebuilt his image and his fortune through “The Apprentice” but also borrowed the medium’s blunt imagery and tendency to manipulate the truth to stage two successful presidential campaigns.

But he has also remade the Republican Party and its accompanying media ecosystem in his image, transforming a group of neoconservatives and deficit hawks into faux-populist, conspiracy-addled culture warriors whose party slogan could easily be the oldest of reality TV cliches: “I’m not here to make friends.”

It’s well known that Trump watches a lot of TV, particularly Fox News, and often hires (and fires) people based on their telegenic abilities rather than other more relevant qualifications.

There’s also a well-established history of mostly conservative politicians and pundits embracing reality TV, dating back to 2010, when Sarah Palin signed up to do a Burnett-produced series for TLC shortly after stepping down from her job as governor of Alaska in the middle of her term. Palin and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani have both appeared on “The Masked Singer,” while former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer turned up on “Dancing With the Stars.”

But this trend also suggests a more profound connection between the reality TV mindset — the kinds of personalities and viewpoints that thrive in the unscripted space — and the Trumpian worldview. It’s the reality TV-to-MAGA pipeline, and lately it’s overflowing.

“Reality shows tend to traffic in simple stories. There’s a hero, there’s a villain, there’s someone you love, there’s someone you hate. People are shown as one-dimensional on reality TV, and there’s always a person to blame if something goes wrong, and we see that in MAGA politics too,” says Danielle Lindemann, professor of sociology at Lehigh University and author of the book “True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us.”

Sean Duffy, shown in 2018, was a “Real World” cast member and congressman before President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be Transportation secretary.

(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

“Most of us know that reality TV is not a pure mirror of reality, but we’re still connecting with it at the level of emotion, even if we don’t necessarily see it as 100% truthful,” she says. “Even people who support Trump don’t necessarily always believe what he’s saying.”

Duffy’s rise from “Real World” cast member to cabinet appointee is instructive. In 1997, the lumberjack and aspiring lawyer with a thick Wisconsin accent appeared in the Boston-set season of the groundbreaking MTV reality series. He repeatedly clashed with co-star Kameelah Phillips, calling her a “b—” and at one point likening her to Hitler because she expressed pride in her Black identity.

But Duffy, typical of “The Real World” in this era, which often cast sheltered conservatives alongside others who challenged their beliefs, didn’t suffer any consequences for the dustups. The following year, he participated in the spinoff “Road Rules: All Stars,” an early incarnation of the show that came to be known as “The Challenge.” There, he met and fell for his future wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, who played a similar role in Season 3 of “The Real World,” set in the liberal bastion of San Francisco. She wasn’t shy about her politics, dragging her housemates to an event with Republican politician Jack Kemp, but she also kept an open mind, bonding with co-star Pedro Zamora, a gay AIDS activist who died of complications from the disease hours after the series finale aired. The Duffys married in 1999 and soon started a family that now includes nine children.

Duffy dabbled in reality TV for a few more years, then pivoted to politics. He served as district attorney of Ashland County, Wis., before staging a successful run for Congress in the tea party-fueled Republican wave of 2010. In the House, Duffy became an early supporter of Trump’s, speaking with Campos-Duffy at the 2016 Republican National Convention and defending the president throughout his scandal-plagued first term. Duffy resigned from Congress in 2019, citing the need to care for a child with health complications he and his wife were expecting. Both Duffys were soon hosting shows in the Fox News empire.

In interviews, Duffy has said that “The Real World” taught him about finding common ground with people from different backgrounds and belief systems. “You see the same thing here [in the House of Representatives],” he said in 2019. “If you give people a chance, and you build a friendship and a trust, it’s amazing the kind of legislation you can work on together and how many points of agreement you actually have.”

But reality TV changed in 2000 with the premiere of “Survivor” on CBS. The show, imported to the U.S. by Burnett, took the voyeurism of “The Real World” and added an element of Darwinian competition that other shows, including “The Challenge,” immediately tried to replicate. It’s notable that Duffy won $50,000 in “The Challenge: The Battle of the Seasons,” which aired in early 2002 and was the first season in which competitors were eliminated “Survivor”-style.

Reality shows like “Survivor” and “The Challenge” “really started to incentivize bad behavior,” says Susie Meister, co-host of “The Brain Candy Podcast,” who witnessed this shift firsthand as a cast member on “Road Rules” in 1998 and a competitor on multiple seasons of “The Challenge.” Cast members are acutely aware that they need to start drama to get called back for multiple seasons — and keep making money.

“It makes sense to me that we’ve seen mostly conservative politicians embrace that approach of uncensored speech and rejection of civility and politically correct language,” she says. “The public conflates that with the truth: ‘They’re telling it like it is.’ Instead of seeing it as shocking and crude, it’s seen as, ‘Finally, somebody’s being honest and being authentic,’ whether or not they are.”

Despite the value placed on “authenticity,” many reality TV stars adopt exaggerated personas to stand out. Meister is cognizant of the roles she played herself: She says she was cast because she was a virginal blond, but that going on “Road Rules” helped her evolve politically. Later, while pursuing a career in media, she faced subtle pressure to embrace a conservative, Megyn Kelly-style persona. “My agent said, ‘It’s a shame that you’re not conservative, because if you were, there are many more opportunities for women that look like you,” she says — i.e., white, fair-haired and conventionally attractive.

“Fox & Friends’” Steve Doocy, left, Ainsley Earhardt and Pete Hegseth interview Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance in 2019. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Hegseth to be Defense secretary in his second administration.

(Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)

American politics, particularly conservative politics, are increasingly dominated by brash figures who are able to command attention in a fractured media landscape — not discuss the nuances of policy. “Both the MAGA-sphere and reality TV tend to be populated by very charismatic, often flashy and bombastic people who capture our attention,” says Lindemann.

Trump, of course, played a fictionalized version of himself on “The Apprentice,” beginning in 2004. “Modern-day Trump was created out of ‘The Apprentice,’ which sold that [image] to Main Street America as the gold standard of success,” says Kwame Jackson, who was runner-up on Season 1 of the show and is now president of Kwame Inc., a consulting firm. “It was false, but America bought it hook, line and sinker. Unfortunately, it unlocked a lot of the most extreme demons of capitalism.”

Reality TV is also rooted in the anti-elitist idea that you don’t need to be talented, at least not in the traditional sense, to become famous. The conservative movement is, increasingly, driven by disdain for expertise and experience in science, medicine, government and more. “As long as you’re charismatic enough and believe the right thing, that is the only credential you need,” says Lindemann.

As 48.4 % of the country braces for another season of “The Trump Show” they were desperately hoping to avoid, many are wondering just how he managed another comeback — especially after 34 felony convictions, two impeachments and one violent insurrection.

Again, the answer lies in the collective mindset of reality TV, whose fans are highly tolerant of aberrant behavior and quick to forgive missteps. Stamp points to Teresa Giudice, the long-running “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star (and Trump supporter) who served 11 months in prison for financial fraud, then promptly returned to Bravo, and Erika Girardi, who remains a fan favorite despite questions about her estranged husband’s financial crimes.

“People can be a villain one season, and then you can like them another season,” Stamp says. Trump has had multiple “villain seasons,” she adds, but he’s also experienced several redemption arcs, most notably following the assassination attempt last summer, when the media framed him in a heroic light.

“People are like, ‘But Trump did Jan. 6! I can’t believe we have moved on!’” Stamp says. “That was four years ago. Have you ever seen reality television?”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —  President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he is naming former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as his nominee for Transportation secretary, as he continues to roll out picks for his Cabinet.

Duffy is a former reality TV star who was one of Trump’s most visible defenders on cable news — a prime concern for the media-focused president-elect. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, was a member of the Financial Services Committee and chairman of the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019, and is co-host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business.

In his announcement, Trump noted that Duffy is married to a Fox News host, calling him “the husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News.”

A spokesperson for Fox News Media wished Duffy “the best of luck in his return to Washington” and said he left the company Monday.

Duffy is so far the second Fox-affiliated television host that Trump has named to his Cabinet. Trump last week announced his choice of Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary.

Trump said Duffy would use his experience and relationships built over the years in Congress “to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”

Duffy in 2022 ruled out a run for Wisconsin governor despite pleas from Trump to make a bid, saying he needed to care for his nine children, including his youngest child who had a heart condition.

He is a former lumberjack athlete and frequent Fox News contributor. He was featured on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997. He met his wife on the set of MTV’s “Road Rules: All Stars” in 1998.

A reality television background before politics is not unusual in Trump’s world. The former president launched his political career after his hit reality show, “The Apprentice.”

Duffy, after his time on reality television, worked as a special prosecutor and Ashland County district attorney. He won election to Congress as part of a tea party wave in 2010.

When he first ran for office, Duffy was largely considered an underdog but attracted national attention for his campaign ads, in which he wore a red flannel shirt and chopped trees. He told voters he came from a “long line of lumberjacks” and would bring his axe to Washington.

He served until resigning in 2019.

The Transportation Department oversees the nation’s complex transportation system, including pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks, the airlines and mass transit systems as well as federal funding for highways.

If confirmed, Duffy would take over at a time of tremendous change, especially on the nation’s highways. Traffic deaths remain near record highs at a time when new technologies are being introduced that could help make the roads safer. Multiple companies are deploying autonomous robotaxis and even driverless semis with no specific federal regulations. And the nascent move from gasoline to electric vehicles presents safety problems of its own, especially with battery fires that can be difficult to extinguish.

The department includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates automakers, including Elon Musk’s Tesla. The department sets fuel economy standards for cars and trucks and regulates the airline industry through the Federal Aviation Administration, which is grappling with a shortage of air traffic controllers to ensure the safe and orderly flow of air travel.

Nicholas Calio, president and chief executive of Airlines for America, said the association was “thrilled” by the choice of Duffy.

“Congressman Duffy has a proven track record for getting things done, and we are eager to collaborate with him on key issues impacting the U.S. airline industry,” Calio said.

Trump has criticized electric vehicles as expensive and unreliable and called President Biden’s policy to promote them “lunacy. He also has said EV manufacturing will destroy auto industry jobs and has falsely claimed that battery-powered cars don’t work in cold weather and are unable to travel long distances.

Trump has softened his rhetoric about electric vehicles in recent months after Musk endorsed him and campaigned heavily for his election.

Even so, industry officials expect Trump to try to slow a shift to electric cars, and a tax credit for EV purchases is reportedly among those the Trump administration may seek to eliminate next year.

Trump, in his statement, said Duffy would “prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports.” Trump, as he campaigned for the White House, would sometimes complain about the state of air travel in particular, lamenting that the nation’s “once-revered airports” are a “dirty, crowded mess.”

Duffy, Trump said Monday, “will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.” DEI refers to “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs.

Miller, Price and Superville write for the Associated Press. Price reported from New York and Superville reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Amanda Seitz in Washington, Tom Krisher in Detroit and David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.