Duffy also said he would cut DEI programs at the agency and create federal rules for self-driving cars instead of leaving that to a patchwork of state regulations, a key priority of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is running Trump’s government efficiency effort.

Prior to his appointment, Sean Duffy served as a Wisconsin congressman and district attorney and before that he was a reality TV star.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he is currently on site at the Federal Aviation Administration headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is monitoring the collision. It was his first day on the job after being sworn in Tuesday.

Sean Duffy, the new transportation secretary, is facing his first major crisis just hours after his swearing-in. Duffy, who was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday, quickly emerged as a public face of the federal government's response to the deadly plane crash at Reagan National Airport,

Mr. Duffy, a former congressman who had appeared on track to sail through with little opposition, overcame a last-minute swell of Democratic anger over the White House’s sweeping funding freeze.