Hearing for Trump DOT Pick Highlights Conflicts of Interests, Push for More Auto Pollution

U.S. senators on Wednesday held confirmation hearings for numerous nominees for positions in President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet, including two who would oversee pollution rules—and climate action groups warned that both men would face major conflicts of interest due to their work for the very industries they would be tasked with regulating.

As Common Dreamsreported, energy secretary Chris Wright is a longtime denier of the climate crisis who's made his fortune in the fossil fuel industry, and as lawmakers were hearing from him Wednesday, transportation secretary nominee Sean Duffy was testifying before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on his experience and political views.

The hearing, said government watchdog Accountable.US, "failed to resolve concerns around a major conflict of interest" tied to Duffy due to his past lobbying for the same airlines that are currently suing the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Duffy, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin, became a lobbyist for BGR Government Affairs in 2019, after serving in the House. He and the firm were hired by "Partnership for Open Skies," which includes as its members American, United, and Delta airlines, to lobby for a "U.S. open skies policy."

Those airlines all joined a lawsuit against the DOT last May, challenging the Biden administration's rule to "protect airline passengers from surprise junk fees when purchasing a ticket."

"DOT needs leadership that prioritizes strong safety standards and environmental justice—not someone with limited qualifications to address these urgent challenges."

"Sean Duffy's lobbying work for the same airlines now suing to overturn a Transportation Department rule against surprise junk fees poses a major conflict," said Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable. "Will Duffy use his power to protect the bottom line of his former corporate clients by scrapping basic transparency protections at the expense of everyday Americans? Duffy is just one of several Trump nominees with similar conflicts of interest that confirm the incoming administration intends to take care of wealthy corporate special interests first and working people last."

At the hearing, said Accountable, Duffy failed to answer questions about his past lobbying and his comments in 2022 about the DOT's push to investigate Southwest Airlines' holiday scheduling crisis.

"Southwest will fix this… [Secretary of Transportation] Pete Buttigieg never will," said Duffy at the time.

Accountable said the nominee's position begged the question, "If Duffy had been the transportation secretary during this crisis, what, if anything, would he have done to protect consumers? Or would he have solely relied on market forces to determine Southwest's penalty, allowing the company to avoid accountability while leaving current and future passengers without restitution or support?"

Kelsey Crane of the climate group Earthworks warned that Duffy's "complete disregard for climate science and disdain for clean energy is deeply concerning."

The DOT plays a "critical role in regulating methane emissions from oil and gas pipelines and permitting oil and gas export terminals that threaten public health and the climate," said Crane, but similar to Wright, Duffy has dismissed the warnings of "climate alarmists" and suggested climate science is an "agenda of control."

"Frontline communities are already suffering the effects of climate pollution and inadequate oversight," said Crane. "DOT needs leadership that prioritizes strong safety standards and environmental justice—not someone with limited qualifications to address these urgent challenges. Sean Duffy's close ties to the oil and gas industry and denial of clear climate science raises serious doubts about his ability to safeguard public health and the climate."

In his post-congressional career as a Fox News host, Duffy used his platform to attack Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards aimed at expanding access to clean vehicles, said the Sierra Club's Katherine García—evidence of his "dangerous and misinformed beliefs."

"We need a secretary of transportation that understands the reality that transportation is the leading source of climate emissions and is committed to clean transportation solutions that will help protect our communities," said García, the director of the group's Clean Transportation for All campaign. "Sean Duffy has no business running DOT and we urge the Senate to reject him."