WASHINGTON >> The Senate on Tuesday confirmed former Rep. Sean Duffy as secretary of transportation over a sudden swell of opposition from Democrats protesting the Trump administration’s sweeping freeze of federal grants, loans and other aid.

The final vote, 77-22, came after Duffy had appeared to be set to sail through with little to no opposition Monday, when all Democrats had voted to advance his nomination.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said he initially backed Duffy because of his commitment to fund approved infrastructure projects. But Coons changed his mind after the White House’s order to pause a vast swath of federal aid set off confusion, outrage and threats of legal action around the country.

“In light of President Trump’s disastrous and illegal order last night to freeze all federal aid, including millions for those very transportation investments, I could not support Mr. Duffy’s nomination or any of President Trump’s nominees for the duration this directive is in place,” Coons said.

The showdown over the funding freeze cast a shadow over what had been one of Trump’s less contentious Cabinet appointments.

The former Wisconsin congressman has promised safer Boeing planes, less regulation and help for U.S. companies developing self-driving cars — while not giving any breaks to Elon Musk, a key player in that technology.

St. Croix bridge

During his confirmation hearing this month, Duffy had committed to improving roadway safety and tackling challenges within the aviation system. His testimony before the panel included discussions on critical topics like the oversight of aerospace giant Boeing and the potential contributions of electric vehicle drivers to the Highway Trust Fund.

Duffy, 53, a former Fox Business host who was elected to five terms in Congress, received bipartisan praise from senators in Wisconsin and Minnesota for his work to get funding to replace an aging bridge that spanned the St. Croix River between the two states.

“As a Great Lake state, lakes, waterways and the infrastructure that surround them are vital to Wisconsin,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said during the hearing. “They also provided Sean great opportunities to work across party and state lines on issues affecting his constituents frequently involving the area of transportation.”

Aside from the St. Croix project, the rest of Duffy’s limited transportation experience stems from his time as a lobbyist after he resigned from Congress in 2019 to help care for his newborn daughter, who had been diagnosed with Down syndrome.

In 2020, Duffy lobbied on behalf of several domestic airlines to try to increase competitiveness with their Middle East counterparts, but the effort was short-lived after air travel stalled during the pandemic, leading the lobbying firm, the BGR Group, to terminate the contract.

Aviation issues

Duffy said that addressing the air traffic controller shortage was among the department’s top mandates from President Donald Trump.

The chronic shortage of air traffic controllers in the United States is a decades-old problem that previous administrations were unable to solve. As air travel demand continues to surge, the need for robust staffing and modernization of technological infrastructure remains critical.

Last summer, the Federal Aviation Administration extended reductions to the minimum number of flights that airlines must operate at congested airports in the New York City area until October 2025. The decision was in response to air traffic controller staffing shortages and allowed for airlines to reduce the number of flights in the area by 10%.

The FAA, at the time, said the number of controllers managing air traffic in New York was inadequate to handle normal traffic levels. The agency predicted that without the waivers, travelers would see increased delays and cancellations at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports.

“In aviation, safety will remain a top priority,” Duffy said during the hearing. “America needs more air traffic controllers.”

Duffy also said it was imperative to restore public trust in Boeing. The company had a rough year after a door plug came off an Alaska Airlines plane midflight last January. The plane maker, one the country’s largest exporters, was trying to repair its reputation after two fatal crashes involving the 737 Max that claimed 346 lives in 2018 and 2019.

Duffy supported calls for a mandatory safety management system for manufacturers, recognizing the importance of fostering a robust safety culture within the company.

Musk, China factor

Duffy also promised to create federal rules for self-driving cars instead of leaving that to patchwork of state regulations that critics said holds back U.S. development.

One of the biggest beneficiaries to a such a regulatory overhaul would be Musk. Stock inn his electric vehicle maker, Tesla, has soared since Trump was elected president on hopes that unified federal rules will be passed. Investors are also expecting the DOT’s investigations into Tesla to be eased now that Musk is a key adviser to the president.

“I will let NHTSA do its investigation,” said Duffy, referring to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency in his department in charge of probes and crackdowns on car makers.

China came up several times at Duffy’s confirmation hearing as a threat to U.S. development of self-driving technology overseen by DOT. A big Chinese electric vehicle maker, BYD, is stealing market share from Tesla both in China and Europe.

The agency has several open investigations into the safety of Tesla vehicles, some focusing on what the company calls Full Self-Driving, a misnomer because the vehicles require human intervention at any moment. In October, NHTSA launched a probe into Tesla’s self-driving system covering 2.4 million vehicles after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian.

This report contains information from the Associated Press.