Washington — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have been sworn in for just a few hours when the primary primary industrial plane crash within the U.S. in more than a decade stunned the country overdue Wednesday.
The Senate confirmed Duffy, President Trump’s pick out to steer the Division of Transportation, on Tuesday with important bipartisan beef up, and he used to be sworn in by means of Vice President JD Vance Wednesday afternoon. Later that evening, an American Airways regional aircraft collided in midair with an Military Black Hawk helicopter close to Reagan Nationwide Airport in Washington, D.C.
Here is what to understand in regards to the new transportation secretary:
Who’s Sean Duffy?
Duffy, 53, represented Wisconsin within the Space of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. He up to now served because the district legal professional of Ashland County, Wisconsin.
After leaving Congress, he joined Fox Information as a contributor and co-hosted a display on Fox Trade, till Mr. Trump announced his selection for transportation secretary. He and his spouse have 9 youngsters.
In his new activity, Duffy has pledged to “herald a golden age of transportation and trip.” Showing sooner than the Senate Trade, Science and Transportation Committee previous this month, he wired the significance of protection as he undertakes the function.
Nathan Posner/Anadolu by means of Getty Photographs
“In aviation, protection will stay a most sensible precedence,” Duffy mentioned, noting that the rustic wishes extra air visitors controllers and pledging to paintings to modernize programs with state of the art applied sciences. He mentioned he would paintings to revive self assurance in Boeing “and to make sure that our skies are protected.”
Duffy pledged to “craft transparent rules which balances protection, innovation and state of the art generation, however at all times excited about protection.”
Responding to the D.C. aircraft crash
Through Wednesday evening, the brand new transportation secretary said he used to be on website on the Federal Aviation Management headquarters and had directed the Transportation Division and FAA to beef up the Nationwide Transportation Protection Board in its reaction to the crash.
Within the wee hours Thursday morning, Duffy joined with the D.C. mayor and emergency reaction officers at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport to temporary journalists at the collision.
Requested about how he used to be feeling within the aftermath of the crash that came about simply hours after he assumed the function, Duffy mentioned his focal point used to be on the ones impacted.
“I have been the secretary for a little bit over an afternoon, and the tragedy that we are going to take care of with this restoration I feel is touching everybody’s hearts,” Duffy mentioned.
In any other information convention later Thursday morning, Duffy confident the general public that American airspace stays protected.
“I can inform you with whole self assurance that we have got the most secure airspace on the planet,” Duffy mentioned.
Showing alongside President Trump and Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth at a White Space briefing, Duffy defined the “entire of presidency reaction” to the crash and dedicated to “unravel this investigation — now not in 3 years, now not in 4 years, however as briefly as conceivable.”
“What came about the day before today should not have came about. It must now not have came about,” Duffy mentioned. “And when American citizens take off in airplanes, they must be expecting to land at their vacation spot.”
