Before he was confirmed last week, Sean Duffy, President Trump's pick for secretary of the Transportation Department, appeared before Congress for his nomination hearing. Instead of facing rigorous and probing questions about his longstanding ties to the airline industry or his vision on consumer protection and competition policies, senators on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee largely gave him a pass.

Americans remain in the dark on whether Duffy will fight on behalf of them or the monopolistic corporations he's supposed to regulate.

This is a concern. The Department of Transportation is massive, regulating not just airlines but rail, highways, waterways and much more. In 2023, this sector made up $1.8 trillion of the nation’s GDP. It is an area rife with consolidated, dominant corporations that often try to charge the greatest amount of money they can for the lowest possible quality of consumer experience.

It's the Transportation Department's job to look out for consumers and protect the competitiveness of the airline industry. But Duffy exemplifies the revolving door between government and the private sector, an issue that for years has helped these dominant transportation corporations run roughshod over consumers, smaller players in the industry and our economic resilience.

Duffy worked for BGR Government Affairs in 2020 and directly

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