Transportation Watchdog: Sec. Sean Duffy Stuck “Cleaning Up Pete Buttigieg’s Mess” 

Arlington, Va. (April 1, 2025) — On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee as lawmakers consider infrastructure investments.

Jackson Shedelbower, executive director of the Center for Transportation Policy (CTP)—a government watchdog dedicated to holding the Department of Transportation accountable to American travelers—released the following statement: 

“Pete Buttigieg’s tenure as transportation secretary was marked by mismanagement, political grandstanding, and misplaced priorities. While he was focused on addressing ‘racist highways,’ the country’s roads, bridges, and aviation infrastructure continued to deteriorate. Now, Sec. Sean Duffy is stuck cleaning up his mess. After only nine weeks on the job, Sec. Duffy is already working to refocus the agency on priorities important to American travelers.”

The bipartisan infrastructure package, largely implemented by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg under the Biden administration, has been dogged by controversy. Despite billions of dollars invested in what was billed to be a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations, very few were actually constructed. Buttigieg also used taxpayer dollars to fund a pilot program aimed at reversing so-called “racist highways.”

For more background, read CTP’s op-ed published in the Detroit News on Monday about Pete Buttigieg’s poor track record as transportation secretary.