Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s wife claimed that he received his Cabinet position because it was what President Donald Trump had “left.”
Rachel Campos-Duffy, a Fox & Friends co-host, made the revelation during a recent appearance with her husband on Katie Miller’s podcast.
“When the president asked you to serve as secretary of transportation, what was the conversation like between the two of you?” asked Miller, who is married to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and frequently interviews Trump administration officials.
“He said he wanted to serve the president in any way,” Campos-Duffy responded. “He ended up in transportation because that was all that [was] left.”
Duffy, who recently released a reality TV series documenting his family’s travels across the U.S., then jumped in to explain that his position is very important to Trump.
“The president told me, and I believe this with him. He said: ‘If I wasn’t the president, I would pick the Department of Transportation of any department. It’s the best department. I’m gonna give it to you,’” Duffy said.
“Because he’s a builder, whether it's roads or bridges.”
“He did say don’t eff it up,” Campos-Duffy added.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump has praised Duffy for his background as a professional lumberjack, describing him last year as “the world champion for five years climbing trees and down, up and down.”
Elsewhere in the podcast interview, Miller asked Campos-Duffy if there was any conflict of interest for her given her dual roles as a Fox News co-host and the spouse of a Trump official.
“I don’t talk about anything to do with transportation, and Fox wouldn’t want me to,” Campos-Duffy said. “It’s no secret that Rachel Campos-Duffy loves President Donald Trump.”
The couple — who met while filming an MTV reality series — also dished on their personal life.
When asked about their nine children, Campos-Duffy said that all of their kids were unplanned, noting that they are Catholic and she never used birth control.
Duffy also addressed his recent viral warning to his daughter about attending Harvard University. He claimed the Ivy League institution has “professionalized” figuring out how to “corrupt” young minds.
“It’s a worthwhile discussion because they all know someone — whether it’s themselves, a family member, a neighbor — who sent a very well-raised conservative child off to one of these universities and the kid comes back radicalized,” the transportation secretary said on the podcast.
He also added that the majority of his time at the Transportation Department is consumed by aviation matters.
Throughout his tenure, the secretary has been forced to contend with airline price hikes caused by the Iran war, long lines at airports triggered by a partial government shutdown as well as a string of recent air disasters.
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