The Senate confirmed former Representative Sean Duffy as secretary of transportation on Tuesday 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 to 22, came after Mr. Duffy had appeared to be set to sail through with little to no opposition on Monday, when all Democrats had voted to advance his nomination.
Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, said he initially backed Mr. Duffy because of his commitment to fund approved infrastructure projects. But Mr. 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,” Mr. Coons said.
The showdown over the funding freeze cast a shadow over what had been one of Mr. Trump’s less contentious cabinet appointments.
During his confirmation hearing this month, Mr. 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 the aerospace giant Boeing and the potential contributions of electric vehicle drivers to the Highway Trust Fund.
Mr. Duffy, 53, a former Fox Business host and Wisconsin congressman who was elected to five terms, 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,” Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, 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 Mr. 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, Mr. 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.
Mr. Duffy said that addressing the air traffic controller shortage was among the department’s top mandates from Mr. 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 percent.
The F.A.A., 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,” Mr. Duffy said during the hearing. “America needs more air traffic controllers.”
Mr. 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.
Mr. Duffy supported calls for a mandatory safety management system for manufacturers, recognizing the importance of fostering a robust safety culture within the company.
Mr. Duffy will also be in position to continue modernizing transportation systems with funding from the 2021 infrastructure law. In particular, Amtrak has been struggling with aging infrastructure that has caused delays throughout the Northeast Corridor for more than a decade.
Senator Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, questioned Mr. Duffy about Amtrak funding, saying he had been concerned about previous efforts to slash it.
Mr. Duffy said he understood the committee’s strong advocacy for rail funding and pledged to work collaboratively.
“This committee has spoken loudly about Amtrak and rail in their home communities,” Mr. Duffy said. “And so, I’m going to continue to work with the committee and abide by the law, enforce the law and implement the law as passed by this body.”
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