Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy flipped the script on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) during a Senate hearing over alleged ethical concerns, after she accused him of allowing companies that are technically under his oversight to provide funding for his “Great American Road Trip,” highlighting the donations she received from industries and organizations that are connected to policies she regulates.
To celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, the bipartisan America 250 commission sanctioned Duffy’s participation in a 10-state road trip with his family as a means of encouraging tourism, which was funded by a nonprofit organization that received donations from several big travel and car companies, including Toyota, Boeing, and Enterprise. The trip was then turned into a five-part video series on YouTube.
“Let’s talk about the Great American Vacation,” Gillibrand said in a video clip of the encounter. “The Great American road trip. Yes, yes. This was a project, Senator, and I want to encourage Americans to see their beautiful country. And as we can see from this hearing, there’s a lot of partisanship in America. This seeing your country, experiencing your country through the window of a car is a beautiful thing,” Duffy responded.
He then told Gillibrand that the idea of a road trip vacation can unite a divided America and encourage parents to spend time with their kids. “It actually unites America. Maybe spending time with your children is a wonderful experience,” Duffy told the senator. “It is a wonderful thing, but your vacation was paid for by Boeing, Toyota, United Airlines, Enterprise, Shell, Royal Caribbean Group, all organizations and companies,” she replied.
Duffy then asked the New York Democrat if she would provide him with an opportunity to respond, to which she replied, “But you’re responding with platitudes.” He then explained that he’s simply telling her what the project is about, noting that it was designed to encourage Americans to travel the country. “So this was officially part of America 250, and you all sanctioned America 250. This is an official partner,” he said.
“Also, this body told me that I’m supposed to promote tourism and travel, and that’s what it does as well. Now hold on a second –” Gillibrand interjected at that point and said, “It shouldn’t be paid for by people that you oversee.” The two go back and forth a bit, with Duffy explaining that the project was a nonprofit organization. The senator still tried to drive home the narrative that the funds for the organization came from companies that the secretary oversees.
And then Duffy drops the hammer and exposes Gillibrand’s hypocrisy. “Do you have jurisdiction over law firms? So you received $7 million in political contracts from the trial bar,” he said. This struck a nerve with the Democratic senator who replied, “Honestly, this has nothing to do with members of Congress. This has to do with the fact that you went on a paid vacation that was paid by companies that you oversee.”
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After a bit of talking over each other, Duffy points out that the trial bar paid half a million dollars to fly Gillibrand on a private jet, which she promptly denied. She then says that members of Congress aren’t allowed to fly on a private jet, but in 2022, Gillibrand spent the second most in Congress on chartered flights, according to a report from Newsweek.
The encounter ends with Duffy taking Gillibrand to task for taking money from the trial bar, which she oversees, saying, “It puts your face on television. Your steak dinners. Your vacations by the trial bar.” The conversation between the two ended as time ran out for the senator and switched to someone else present at the hearing.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video