Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s new reality show, filmed with his family over the last seven months, has sparked criticism amid high gas prices, in addition to raising ethics questions.
Duffy said that costs for the five-part series titled “The Great American Road Trip,” which will air for free on YouTube ahead of America’s 250th birthday, were paid for by a nonprofit, the Great American Road Trip Inc., and that “zero taxpayer dollars were spent on my family.” He said his family did not receive a salary or production royalties.
The project’s sponsors, according to its website, include Boeing, Shell, Toyota, United Airlines and Royal Caribbean — all companies that intersect with the Department of Transportation.
“As everyday Americans struggle with the price of gas and raise concerns about airline safety, the Secretary announces that he spent work time going on a road trip that appears to have been funded by the very industries his agency oversees,” Donald K. Sherman, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in a statement.
This show brings Duffy and his wife, Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, back to their entertainment roots. The pair, who have nine children together, met while filming the MTV reality show “Road Rules: All Stars.”
“To love America is to see America,” Duffy says in the trailer that released Friday.
“It’s one of the most powerful ways to understand the vast, beautiful, complicated place we call home,” he says over video of destinations spanning from sweeping fields to bustling cities.
The Duffy family said they filmed the show one to two days at a time over the course of seven months. Trip activities included running up the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, snowmobiling in Montana, and a stop at “The Real World: Boston” house where Duffy first gained reality television fame.
Duffy and his family embarked on the journey with a kickoff from President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
“Taking a little trip? A little trip all over?” Trump says to the Duffys in the trailer.
Campos-Duffy, a co-host on “Fox and Friends Weekend,” says in the trailer that “‘The Great American Road Trip’ will inspire families to step away from the noise, hit the open road and reconnect with what matters most.”
The trailer’s release has sparked criticism, however, coming at a time when it is less feasible for many Americans to embark on road trips or other travel.
The US-Iran war has raised the price of gas, which hit $4.55 a gallon Friday, worsening affordability issues. More than two months into the war, consumer sentiment has declined, and some Americans have cut back on essentials and spending for trips, as CNN has reported.
Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating for handling the economy recently fell to a career low of 31%, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS last month, reflecting pessimism among Americans over the issue they consistently describe as the most important.
“Secretary Duffy has already taken action to make cars” affordable and to support the president’s “energy dominance agenda,” a Department of Transportation spokesperson said in a statement.
Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary under President Joe Biden, called Duffy’s new series “brutally out of touch,” adding that “regular families can’t afford road trips anymore, because Trump and his war put gas prices through the roof.”
Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Glezman Buttigieg, called the new show “unserious” and said the Duffy family is “bragging about their multi-month, taxpayer-funded family road trip while gas and grocery prices soar for American families because of Trump’s war of choice.”
Campos-Duffy responded to his criticism, saying, “all production costs were paid for by the non-profit, The Great American Road Trip, Inc. No one in my family – including my husband – were paid to do this.”
The Great American Road Trip is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization, according to its website.
“Proudly partnering with the U.S, Department of Transportation, The Great American Road Trip fully funds its own efforts to celebrate and share America’s story,” the website reads, alongside a list of corporate sponsors including trade groups, gas companies and tourism agencies.
“Government rules make clear that even if a gift isn’t technically a ‘conduit’ gift, government employees should decline acceptance if it would cause a reasonable person to question their impartiality, which this certainly does,” said Sherman, of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Duffy posted a lengthy message Saturday on X defending the project, writing, “Career ethics and budget officials at the Department of Transportation reviewed and approved both my participation and individual travel in accordance with federal rules.”
Asked by CNN whether taxpayer dollars were used for Duffy’s individual travel, the Department of Transportation spokesperson said that celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, including through “The Great American Road Trip,” is part of Duffy’s official duties.
“On these brief stops, the Secretary also often conducted additional visits like touring air traffic control towers and assessing port infrastructure. Like with any other official engagements, the Department covered the flight,” they said. The spokesperson emphasized that no taxpayer dollars were spent on Duffy’s family and that costs covered by the show’s sponsors included gas, car rentals, lodging and activities.
Sherman, meanwhile, said that “Despite the secretary’s vigorous defense, there are still numerous questions that warrant investigation: was this an appropriate use of government time? What role did industry play in funding it?”