Inside The White House Frustrations With Sean Duffy

As last year’s government shutdown entered its sixth week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy popped up in Wausau, Wisconsin, to campaign for his son-in-law’s bid for Congress.

Duffy, who at the time was under intense scrutiny for shutdown-driven flight delays created by air traffic controller staffing issues, was at a campaign event for Michael Alfonso, who is running for Congress in Duffy’s old district, Wisconsin’s 7th.

But Duffy hadn’t gotten permission from the White House to make that appearance — and that rankled White House senior staff. So did his aggressive push for President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Among the perturbed were chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff James Blair, according to three people familiar with the internal dynamics, granted anonymity to discuss them.

The White House “wanted [Duffy] to check in with them first to see if that’s what they wanted to do, and I think that they kind of made that point [to him],” one of the people said.

Those interviewed for this article said that Trump hasn’t soured on Duffy and senior staff have moved on, but that the secretary’s tendency to blur the line between official responsibilities and family politics has been one of several missteps he has made over the past year.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai praised Duffy as “the most transformational force at the Department of Transportation in a generation.” Nathaniel Sizemore, a spokesperson for DOT, insisted that Trump “loves” Duffy and that’s “exactly why [Trump] wanted him out there during the shutdown — to communicate that air travel was safe.”

The White House also disputed the idea that Blair was ever upset with Duffy and denied that Duffy didn’t have permission to attend the event. Blair insisted he signed off on the trip.

“Whatever sources are claiming, this is making up fake drama. It is untrue. Secretary Duffy and I collaborate quite well,” Blair told POLITICO.

Still, the Nov. 11 Wausau appearance made waves, coming amid a shutdown that put a spotlight on flight delays.

Wiles told other advisers that Duffy should “just fix Newark!” according to one of the people who heard her say it. Newark Liberty International Airport, like others, was hit with multiple ground stops due to staffing issues during the 43-day shutdown.

A senior White House official said Wiles and Duffy have spoken directly about the secretary’s plans to fix Newark, which he is actively working on.

Separately, some White House officials were unhappy with what they felt was a slow response to a series of dangerous communications outages at Newark last year, according to the two people, when the administration was eager to project the urgent need for upgrades to the nation’s aviation infrastructure.

The Wisconsin episode wasn’t the only time Duffy’s campaigning garnered eye-rolls.

Duffy repeatedly attempted to boost Alfonso as a pro-Trump conservative, including making a personal plea to Trump for his blessing. (Trump endorsed him on Tuesday.) Alfonso is married to eldest daughter Evita Duffy-Alfonso, an independent journalist with a large social media following. Beyond that Wausau appearance, Duffy has spent significant time in Wisconsin focused on helping Alfonso and spending time with family, leaving him less available for meetings with White House officials, one of the people said.

Duffy, who has been in the midst of trying to execute an ambitious overhaul of the country’s antiquated and complicated air traffic control system, also was slated to be the “special guest” at a Dec. 3 fundraiser for Alfonso, 25, whose background is in the construction industry. That event was hosted by Delta Air Lines PAC as well as numerous BGR Group lobbyists, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by POLITICO. (The invitation noted that Duffy was “not soliciting funds in connection with this event.”)

Sizemore said Duffy did not attend the December fundraiser. “He was in the Oval Office to announce a new car affordability initiative and meet with the president on air traffic control modernization,” Sizemore said.

Spokespeople for Delta and BGR Group didn’t respond to requests for comment.

On another occasion, Duffy cornered Trump at an event and pressed him to endorse Alfonso, according to two people familiar with the interaction. The move upset Blair, who viewed it as an end run around the White House political operation and an unnecessary imposition on the president, according to one of the two people.

“The president and I both support Michael because he will be the hardest working MAGA warrior for Wisconsin’s 7th district,” Duffy told POLITICO in a statement. “I show up for the American people and for my family, and I’ll never apologize for that. My son-in-law will make a great congressman, and I know he is honored to have President Trump’s complete and total endorsement.” Alfonso is running against Jessi Ebben, who ran unsuccessfully in another district, and Republican businessperson and attorney Paul Wassgren in a competitive primary to replace Rep. Tom Tiffany. Alfonso’s campaign website and social media are plastered with photos of him with Trump, and he’s campaigned with life-sized cut outs of Trump by his side.

Some of the irritations White House staff describe extend beyond Duffy’s involvement in boosting the political prospects of his son-in-law. Duffy, a devout Catholic, also complained last year when he wasn’t asked to accompany Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on a trip to meet with the newly installed pope, according to two of the people familiar with the episode. Duffy complained about the snub, leaving White House officials exasperated by what they saw as a selfish fixation, the people said.

The Department of Transportation declined to comment on the episode.

A few months after that, Duffy, who had also been serving as acting NASA administrator, pushed for NASA to be folded into the Department of Transportation, pitting himself against Elon Musk and his favored candidate to be NASA administrator, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman.

Isaacman was ultimately named to lead the agency.

The frustrations with some of Duffy’s moves stand in contrast to what many inside the administration saw as a strong start for the secretary, who was confirmed just a day before a deadly plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that proved an early test of his leadership. The White House approved of how he handled the disaster, earning him early goodwill in the West Wing, according to one of the three people familiar with the White House’s thinking.

Desai also praised Duffy’s handling of the government shutdown.

“Secretary Duffy was front and center in leading our nation’s air traffic control system through a reckless Democrat Government Shutdown, and has consistently rushed to take charge of issues affecting America’s vital transportation network,” Desai said. “Secretary Duffy’s leadership is reaping dividends for Americans each time they board a plane, take a train, or merge onto a highway.”

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