- United States
- Calif.
- Letter
Congress must investigate Secretary Sean Duffy's participation in "The Great American Road Trip" and hold public hearings to enforce appropriate consequences for any laws broken. The federal gift ban is clear: executive branch officers cannot solicit or accept anything of value from entities involved with their agency. Boeing — a company under active federal investigations overseen by the Department of Transportation — is listed as a sponsor of this production. That is not a gray area.
Duffy's office needs to answer a straightforward question: was this a work trip or a vacation? If it was official business, taxpayer funds should have paid for it. If it was personal travel, then accepting industry-backed production support almost certainly violates federal ethics rules. Any regular federal employee would be fired for this. The "non-profit production company" explanation does not resolve the underlying conflict — it just adds another layer that warrants scrutiny.
This is happening while TSA agents quit over missed paychecks during the shutdown, two pilots died in the LaGuardia collision, and Americans are paying surging gas prices. The Secretary of Transportation does not get to film a reality show with industry sponsors and face no accountability. Please demand a full ethics review now.