Kirsten Gillibrand Battles Sean Duffy Over His Web Series

"Gillibrand interjected, “Let’s talk about The Great American Vacation,” and Duffy corrected her: “The Great American Road Trip?” before continuing, “This was a project, Senator, and I want to encourage Americans to see their beautiful country. And as we can see from this hearing, there’s a lot of partisanship in America. Seeing your country, experiencing your country through the window of a car is a beautiful thing, it actually unites America. Maybe spending time with your children is a wonderful thing It is a wonderful thing!”"

"Gillibrand took issue with the fact that Duffy was responding with platitudes as he went on: “I’m telling you what the project was, Duffy said. Two days, quickly in and out. And I did film The Great American Road Trip to encourage Americans to travel. I’ll answer your question. So, this was officially part of America 250, and you all sanctioned America 250. No, no, it’s an official partner of America 250. Also, this body told me that I’m supposed to promote tourism and travel, and that’s what it does as well.”"

"“But your vacation was paid for by Boeing, Toyota, United Airlines, Enterprise, Shell, Royal Caribbean Group, all organizations and companies,” Gillibrand said, prompting Duffy to ask, “This time, Duffy interrupted, asking if he could respond.” Gillibrand then continued pressing the point, challenging Duffy’s responses and the characterization of the trip as a personal vacation rather than a funded project."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand questioned Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing about the Department of Transportation’s proposed $26.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2027. Duffy faced scrutiny for filming The Great American Road Trip, a YouTube reality show created to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th anniversary while he was in office. Gillibrand challenged the framing of the project as a vacation and emphasized that multiple corporations and organizations paid for it, including Boeing, Toyota, United Airlines, Enterprise, Shell, and Royal Caribbean Group. Duffy responded that the project was intended to encourage Americans to travel and unite the country, and he disputed Gillibrand’s characterization of the show’s relationship to America 250.

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