Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy repeatedly attacked his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, on social media over the past 24 hours amid scrutiny of his participation in a reality series funded by companies he regulates.
Duffy criticized Buttigieg, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, in two back-to-back posts on X on Tuesday, as Duffy faces calls for an investigation over his participation in an upcoming five-part series called The Great American Road Trip. Critics have called out Duffy for taking part in the program at a time when road trips are unaffordable for many Americans due to soaring gas prices, while others have raised concerns about whether ethics rules were violated.
In one X post on Tuesday, Duffy said the Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, system had broken down during Buttigieg’s tenure as Transportation secretary and that he “didn’t fix it.”
“Under my leadership, America now has a BRAND NEW state-of-the-art NOTAM system,” Duffy wrote.
In another post earlier that day, he accused Buttigieg of being “so obsessed with pronouns, he put your safety at risk.” He wrote: “Instead of fixing the tech, Pete spent his energy on removing ‘MEN’ from ‘Notice of Airmen,’ and change it to ‘MISSION.’”
In December 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration, under former President Joe Biden, renamed the messages “Notices to Air Missions,” saying it was “inclusive of all aviators and missions.” The decision was reversed in February 2025, after President Donald Trump returned to office.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Buttigieg directed Newsweek to Buttigieg’s May 8 X post criticizing Duffy’s reality series as “brutally out of touch.” Newsweek reached out to Duffy for comment through the Department of Transportation via email.
Duffy Faces Backlash
Duffy revealed last week that he and his family had traveled across the country over seven months for the five-part series, which will be released for free on YouTube ahead of America’s 250th birthday in July.
Buttigieg called out Duffy, saying regular families “can’t afford road trips anymore” because Trump’s war in Iran “put gas prices through the roof.” His husband, Chasten Buttigieg, said Duffy and his wife, Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, “threw endless fits on national television when Pete was working from our son’s ICU bedside,” but are “now bragging about their multi-month, taxpayer-funded family road trip.”
After adopting twins in 2021, Pete Buttigieg took a two-month paternity leave, which drew criticism from some on the right. Though Duffy did not specifically name the paternity leave, he has referred to Buttigieg as “No-Show Pete” in the past, claiming that he spent too much time away from the Department of Transportation.
Duffy has said “zero taxpayer dollars” were spent on his family, filming was done in “short, one to two day production windows,” and that production costs were paid for by the nonprofit Great American Road Trip Inc.
However, the nonprofit is sponsored by several companies, including Boeing and United Airlines, that are regulated by the Department of Transportation, prompting Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) to call for the DOT’s inspector general to investigate whether Duffy violated any gift, travel and ethics rules by participating in the series.
“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,” CREW wrote in its letter to the inspector general.
“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.”
Politico reported on Tuesday that a pitch deck from the nonprofit outlined several tiers for companies wanting to become sponsors, costing between $100,000 and $1 million. It is not clear how much each sponsor contributed.
Newsweek reached out to Great American Road Trip Inc. and the sponsors for comment via email.
Duffy has said neither he nor his family received a salary or production royalties and that “career ethics and budget officials at the Department of Transportation reviewed and approved both my participation and individual travel in accordance with federal rules.”
Nathaniel Sizemore, a spokesperson for the DOT, previously told Newsweek that production costs covered by the Great American Road Trip Inc. included gas, car rentals, lodging, and activities.
“Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary is part of Secretary’s Duffy official duties and The Great American Road Trip is one aspect in support of those responsibilities,” Sizemore said.
“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.”
Duffy’s Wife Takes Aim at Buttigieg
Campos-Duffy also criticized Buttigieg as she faced questions about whether taking part in the series created any conflicts of interest, given the sponsors.
Speaking during an appearance on SiriusXM’s RealClearPolitics, Campos-Duffy said that most of her husband’s day “is filled with having to clean up the messes that Pete Buttigieg did.”
She added, “My husband is not a corrupt man. He’s had many years in politics, and nobody’s 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.”
Read the full article here
