Luján Statement on Transportation Secretary Nominee Confirmation Hearing

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued the following statement on the nomination hearing for former Congressman Sean Duffy, the nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Transportation:

“Today, I participated in a productive confirmation hearing for former Congressman Sean Duffy to serve as U.S. Secretary of Transportation. During the hearing, Mr. Duffy and I had a conversation regarding the importance of ending drunk driving once and for all and his commitment to expediting the implementation of the HALT/RIDE Act that I passed into law. As I have done with previous nominees, I am committed to evaluating his credentials in a fair and thorough process.”

Video of Senator Luján’s exchange with former Congressman Sean Duffy is available here.

An excerpt of Senator Luján’s opening remarks is available below:

Mr. Duffy, thanks for being with us today and for your focus on safety throughout your testimony. If I heard you correctly, you told Senator Cruz that you want your legacy as Secretary of Transportation to be improving safety. I cannot think of a more noble and important priority in your work than making our country safer for our families and for our communities.

I also want to say thank you for sharing your wife Rachel’s story. I know firsthand how hard it is to speak about these tragedies and these traumas. Thirty years ago, I was hit head on by a drunk driver. Thank God you’re here. Thank God I survived. It took me a long time to even learn how to tell my story. It still brings back these memories whenever you even think about it.

It’s one of the reasons I introduced the HALT/RIDE Act with my colleagues. I want to thank the chair [Acting Chair Capito] because she has been a steadfast leader on getting this done. I introduced legislation that I believe will dramatically end, dramatically reduce not just drunk driving deaths, but distracted deaths and crashes across America. 

Background on Senator Luján’s work to keep our roadways safe:

Senator Luján is a longtime advocate of comprehensive safety measures to save lives and keep our roadways safe. In 2021, Luján championed the HALT/RIDE Act, which was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and implements drunk and impaired driving measures to prevent drunk driving and help save thousands of lives each year. In March 2024, Luján called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to swiftly move forward with its rulemaking process to implement the HALT/RIDE Act, and to do so in a way that protects’ drivers privacy.

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