Credit: (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)WASHINGTON — With the confirmation process for his nominees underway, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation has a record of voting against passenger rail funding during his time in Congress, including one massive project dear to New Jersey.
In September 2017, for instance, former Rep. Sean Duffy, a Republican from Wisconsin, voted to strip $900 million in federal funding allocated to the Gateway Program, the $16-billion public works project underway to add two new tunnels beneath the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York City.
The House voted down that amendment after Democrats and Republicans, including former New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th), who called Gateway “a national priority,” opposed the cut.
Lance and every other New Jersey House member voted against the amendment.
Confirmation hearing on Wednesday
Selecting Duffy to lead the Transportation Department, Trump called him a “respected voice and communicator.” A former four-term House member from rural Wisconsin, Duffy has a thin resume on transportation topics but would take over a sprawling and highly technical department that regulates automobile emissions, vehicle safety, pipelines, highways, public transit, railroads, airplanes and the trucking industry.
His confirmation hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), brand new to the Senate, is a member of that committee.
Confirmation of all or most of Trump’s picks to fill his Cabinet is likely. The Senate has rejected just three Cabinet picks in the last century, though other nominees have withdrawn before facing a vote, according to a tally that dates to the early 1800s.
Cabinet nominees require a simple majority vote in the Senate, where Republicans hold the majority.
If the Senate confirms him as transportation secretary, Duffy will also hold one of the 10 board seats at Amtrak, the national rail agency that draws money from riders and federal funding.
During his time in Congress, Duffy did not serve on any committees with jurisdiction over transportation policy and registered as a federal lobbyist in 2019 after he left Congress.
As a lobbyist, his clients have largely been financial services companies. He sat on the Financial Services Committee when in the House.
Duffy’s voting record
Duffy voted in 2015 to eliminate all of Amtrak’s funding that Congress had authorized. All New Jersey House members but former Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th) voted no on that item.
He voted in 2017 to cut $1.1 billion in funding from Amtrak, a “move that would have killed passenger train service in this country as we know it,” as the Rail Passenger Association, a high-speed rail advocacy group, described the vote.
In a list of 14 votes on passenger rail that the group compiled, Duffy voted against each measure.
“We remain open to working with the Trump administration on advancing passenger rail programs in the coming Congress, but Mr. Duffy’s voting record demands answers,” Jim Matthews, the group’s president and CEO, said after Duffy was nominated.
The Trump transition team did not reply to questions NJ Spotlight News submitted about Duffy’s views on passenger rail.
During the Biden administration, Congress provided a significant injection of public transit funding, including $66 billion for rail for Amtrak in a 2021 infrastructure law.
As that money dwindles, the incoming Trump administration and Republican allies on Capitol Hill have not proposed transportation legislation for their 2025 agenda.
Though Duffy resigned from Congress in 2019, he has maintained a federal campaign account though he has not run for office since — a practice experts call a “zombie” campaign.
Since Duffy stepped down, that account has made campaign donations to Republicans running for reelection, including $3,000 to Rep. Tom Kean (R-7th), $1,000 to Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th) and $2,600 to Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris).
