Administration

Wife says Transportation chief Sean Duffy ‘not a corrupt man’ amid family road trip criticism

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by Ashleigh Fields - 05/12/26 6:40 PM ET

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by Ashleigh Fields - 05/12/26 6:40 PM ET

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The wife of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday said that her husband is not a “corrupt man” after a watchdog group urged the inspector general to investigate the couple’s newest reality series, “The Great American Road Trip.”

“I don’t think anybody can accuse my husband of not having done his job well. In fact, people have been remarkably happy with it,” Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy said during a radio appearance on SiriusXM’s RealClearPolitics.

“And my husband is not a corrupt man. He’s had many years in politics and nobody has ever accused my husband of that. And he certainly would not take favor with anybody because they contributed to an America 250 project, which is about celebrating America,” she added.

Her comments follow Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s (CREW) push to investigate Duffy, as well as the show’s potential sponsorship by Toyota, United Airlines, Boeing, and other members of the transportation industry regulated by DOT.

The watchdog group said that this violates federal law.

“Secretary Duffy’s participation in a promotion of the privately sponsored ‘Great American Road Trip’ raises questions about whether his official time is being used for public purposes, whether he accepted or solicited gifts from companies with businesses subject to regulation by the Department, the appropriate use of government travel and the potential promotion of private products,” the group wrote in its complaint.

“Therefore, CREW asks DOT OIG to use its authority to investigate any misuse of federal funds and staff or whether the secretary violated the standards of ethical conduct or other federal ethics laws by his participation in the privately sponsored promotional road trip with his family, as well as whether sufficient internal controls are in place to prevent future violations,” they added.

Duffy and Campos-Duffy have repeatedly said that budget officials reviewed the details of the transportation secretary’s participation and that they are in line with the government’s ethical standards.

“Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary is part of Secretary Duffy’s official duties, and The Great American Road Trip is one aspect in support of those responsibilities,” DOT spokesperson Nathaniel Sizemore told The Hill.

“On these brief stops, the Secretary also often conducted additional visits like touring air traffic control towers and assessing port infrastructure. Like with any other official engagements, the Department covered the flight,” he added.

However, Duffy’s predecessor, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his spouse, Chasten, have criticized the official’s participation on the show.

“The same Duffys who threw endless fits on national television when Pete was working from our son’s ICU bedside are now bragging about their multi-month, taxpayer-funded family road trip while gas and grocery prices soar for American families because of Trump’s war of choice,” Chasten wrote in a social media post on Friday.

He added, “How much more unfocused, unserious, and out of touch can you be?”

Campos-Duffy fired back in a post defending her husband.

“No one in my family – including my husband – were paid to do this,” Campos-Duffy wrote.

“We did it for FREE to celebrate America 250 & encourage other Americans to get off couches & screens and spend time together seeing our country. It was filmed in small one and two day stops over the course of seven months,” she added.

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