The people tapped to run NASA have often been scientists, engineers, academics, or government officials. The agency’s new interim head, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, brings a different sort of background to the position.
Over the past three decades, Duffy has worn a variety of hats, appearing on reality television, serving as a district attorney and a member of the House, and now leading the Transportation Department under President Donald Trump’s second Administration amid mounting concerns about air travel safety.
Trump announced Duffy’s appointment as NASA’s interim Administrator on Wednesday, praising his work as Transportation Secretary.
“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. “He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time.”
Duffy said in a post on X that he was “honored to accept this mission.”
The news of Duffy’s appointment comes after Trump pulled his nomination of billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to run NASA in May, just days before Isaacman was expected to be confirmed to the position. Isaacman is a friend of Elon Musk, and the move was seen as the first sign of the rift between Trump and Musk that widened as the two men publicly feuded over a sweeping tax and spending package central to Trump’s second term agenda.
Duffy will continue to run the Transportation Department while temporarily leading NASA, making him the latest Trump Administration official to take on multiple roles. Here’s what to know about him.
He was an MTV reality star
When Duffy was in his 20s, he appeared on MTV’s reality show “The Real World” and became known as the show’s resident playboy. He later starred in the MTV show “Road Rules: All Stars,” where he met his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, now a Fox News host.
The couple have nine children. Together, in 2021, they launched a podcast, “From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys,” on which they have discussed various social and political issues and promoted a conservative vision of family.
He was a district attorney and served in Congress
Duffy was the district attorney of Ashland County in Wisconsin for nearly 10 years, from 2002 to 2010.
He was elected to the House as part of 2010’s Tea Party wave, winning a district that had been held by a Democrat for more than four decades. He served in Congress for about eight years before resigning partway through his fifth term in 2019, saying he wanted to support his family after learning his ninth child would be born with health complications, including a heart condition.
He worked as a political commentator and lobbyist
After leaving Congress, Duffy worked as a paid political commentator at CNN, where he garnered criticism for promoting a conspiracy theory and suggesting National Security Council official Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman had an “affinity” for Ukraine after Vindman testified in Trump’s first impeachment inquiry.
He later worked at a lobbying firm based in Washington before becoming the co-host of a show on Fox Business that premiered in 2023.
He now serves in Trump’s Cabinet
Trump named Duffy as his nominee to run the Transportation Department soon after the 2024 election. Duffy was not among Trump’s most contentious nominees, and was sworn into the role in January after an easy confirmation process that ended in a 77-22 Senate vote to approve his nomination.
Under Duffy’s leadership, the department has pledged to make changes to the nation’s air traffic control system, after a string of crashes and near misses. In January, an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter collided when the plane was about to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 67 people on board both aircrafts. A few months later, radar and communications at Newark Liberty International Airport stopped working on multiple occasions. One of the outages lasted as long as 90 seconds. Hundreds of flights were canceled and delayed in the aftermath. Duffy said he plans to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control system, including by replacing antiquated telecommunications and launching efforts to boost staffing for air traffic controllers.
As Transportation Secretary, Duffy has also said that he will roll back “woke DEI policies” and environmental regulations initiated under the Biden Administration.