Transportation Hearing Will Focus on Aviation Safety and Infrastructure

Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Transportation, is set to appear before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday where he will be questioned about how he plans to manage the agency, improve aviation safety and oversee the country’s infrastructure.

Mr. Duffy, 53, has a varied background, having been a Fox News host, a lawmaker from Wisconsin, a lobbyist in Washington, a district attorney and, when younger, a reality television personality. But he has little experience in transportation or managing large organizations.

If approved by the Senate, Mr. Duffy would be inheriting an agency with a budget of more than $100 billion that has been in the spotlight following a number of high-profile incidents. Last year, a cargo ship hit and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and a series of near collisions at U.S. airports prompted new concerns about aviation safety. The year before, a hazardous freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, prompted calls to make the rail industry safer.

“Mr. Duffy will promote a leaner, more efficient D.O.T., eliminating onerous regulations while responsibly investing in the nation’s infrastructure and ensuring safety,” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the Republican who leads the Commerce Committee, was set to say in remarks prepared for the hearing.

Mr. Duffy, who served in Congress from 2011 to 2019, would be tasked with overseeing the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration.

In written remarks, Mr. Duffy stated that aviation and roadway safety would be top priorities during his tenure. He also wrote that there needed to be an increase in the number of air traffic controllers, a work force that has long faced chronic shortages. His remarks did not include how he would recruit and retain more controllers in critical areas like New York, as the next Republican-led administration has promised vast cuts in all sectors of government.

Mr. Duffy expressed his commitment to working with Congress and the F.A.A. to restore global confidence in Boeing and ensure the safety of the nation’s airspace. If confirmed, he said he would “work to reduce the red tape that slows critical infrastructure projects, ensuring funds are spent efficiently.”

During Mr. Trump’s previous administration, two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, leading to a reckoning for one of the United States’ most storied companies. The F.A.A. further stepped up scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing practices after the door panel in the body of one of the 737 Max planes was blown out during flight in January 2024.

Similarly to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg when he arrived four years ago, Mr. Duffy doesn’t bring much transportation expertise. What he does have stems primarily from his lobbying days, as some of his clients were part of, or involved with, the transportation sector.

During his four years at the BGR Group, a lobbying firm in Washington, Mr. Duffy represented 10 clients, according to Senate filings, ranging from the accounting firm Marcum LLP to Diem Networks, a digital currency initiative owned at the time by Meta.

In early 2020, Mr. Duffy registered to represent the Partnership for Open Skies, a coalition of domestic carriers funded by United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

The partnership was an effort to persuade the U.S. government to help domestic airlines compete with their Middle East counterparts, who at the time were receiving subsidies from their own governments that U.S. carriers believed allowed them to fly more cheaply to destinations overseas. But the initiative fizzled after the pandemic crippled air travel, and the contract with BGR was terminated after just one quarter.

Mr. Duffy also lobbied for Polaris, the snowmobile manufacturer that also makes military vehicles and is a government contractor.

Between 2019 and 2023, Mr. Duffy was part of a team at BGR that provided strategic counsel to Polaris, typically for a payment of $60,000 per quarter, filings show. By 2022, as Polaris shifted focus to developing electric vehicles amid new tax credits for clean energy. A bipartisan bill introduced in early 2023 proposed tax credits for off-road electric vehicles.

A BGR spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about what Mr. Duffy did for Polaris or other clients.

Mr. Cruz, in his remarks, said that during Mr. Duffy’s time in Congress, he improved transportation infrastructure in his state.

Mr. Duffy, he said, worked with both parties to secure funding for the St. Croix Crossing, which replaced an outdated and unsafe bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and he helped improve port infrastructure while serving on the Great Lakes Task Force.

Kenneth P. Vogel contributed reporting.