Jan. 29 (UPI) — Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy promised to improve the nation’s transportation infrastructure and systems after Vice President JD Vance swore in Duffy on Wednesday afternoon.
“We spent a lot of money in the last administration and didn’t get a lot out of it,” Vance said of the Transportation Department during President Joe Biden‘s administration.
“We’re going to have a Transportation secretary here who is a much better steward of taxpayer dollars but also will make sure the taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and actually go to the places where the administration needs them to go,” Vance said before swearing in Duffy.
Duffy, 53, thanked Vance, President Donald Trump and his wife, Rachel, who held the Bible upon which Duffy placed his left hand while taking the oath of office.
“We are gonna usher in the golden age of transportation,” Duffy told media and attendees.
“We’re going to work on efficiency, making sure our infrastructure actually works for the American people, for the American family, making sure you can get to and from work in a timely fashion.”
He said the Transportation Department will work on congestion and air space to make air travel faster, so people don’t have to wait a long time in airports prior to their flights.
Duffy also said he wants to make the United States the world leader in innovative and emerging transportation technologies.
“We are in one of the most innovative spaces, whether it’s drones or autonomous vehicle … or Ubers in the air,” Duffy said. “We are in a race to beat the rest of the world.”
In addition to his wife, Duffy was joined by seven of their nine children during the swearing-in ceremony at 12:30 p.m. EST at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Duffy was a Republican member of the House of Representatives for Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019 and is a former prosecutor and former transportation industry lobbyist.
He also was a cast member on MTV’s The Real World, where he met his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy.