Sean Duffy Torches Pete Buttigieg As Transportation Feud Intensifies

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy escalated his public feud with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this week, accusing the Biden administration official of failing to modernize America’s transportation infrastructure while wasting billions on progressive priorities.

In a social media post accompanied by a montage video, Duffy mocked Buttigieg’s pace in office and contrasted it with what he described as the Trump administration’s aggressive push to overhaul transportation systems nationwide.

“Pete Buttigieg moved like a sloth. I’m moving at the speed of Trump!” Duffy wrote online. “He did nothing. He spent $80 billion on DEI and on climate change. We did more in one year than the last administration did in all four.”

Pete Buttigieg moved like a sloth.
I’m moving at the speed of Trump!

After four years of a do-nothing DOT Secretary, America is back ??

Look what @USDOT has done in just ONE year!?? pic.twitter.com/2obqel6bfq

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) May 17, 2026

The comments quickly drew praise from Republican allies, including Rep. Andy Ogles, who applauded Duffy’s efforts to modernize transportation systems and reduce regulations.

The clash between the two transportation chiefs intensified after Buttigieg criticized Duffy during a CNN interview over a new travel-focused video series featuring Duffy and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy.

The upcoming YouTube series, titled “The Great American Road Trip,” follows the Duffy family traveling across the country visiting landmarks and tourist destinations.

Buttigieg mocked the project while comparing it to his own military service overseas.

“I love road trips. I love America,” Buttigieg said. “I actually took a taxpayer-funded road trip lasting about seven months. It was in Afghanistan.”

The former transportation secretary also accused Duffy of being disconnected from the financial struggles Americans face amid rising fuel prices tied to ongoing tensions with Iran.

“This is not about patriotism,” Buttigieg argued. “It is an embarrassment.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg tells Dana Bash on Sean Duffy: “I love roadtrips. I love America. I actually took a taxpayer-funded roadtrip lasted about 7 months. It was in Afghanistan. This is something very different.” pic.twitter.com/MNCIe4BzRC

— Neo Jane (@Neo_Jane8) May 17, 2026

Buttigieg further claimed the Transportation Department under Duffy had slowed hiring efforts for air traffic controllers during a period of mounting aviation concerns and staffing shortages.

The Department of Transportation strongly rejected those accusations, telling reporters that the Trump administration has actually increased annual air traffic controller hiring by roughly 20% compared to the Biden administration.

According to department officials, the administration has also accelerated major modernization efforts involving air traffic infrastructure, including replacing aging copper wiring systems, upgrading radio sites, and installing dozens of new runway and surface monitoring systems nationwide.

Officials also claimed Duffy’s department has saved taxpayers approximately $14 billion since President Trump returned to office while eliminating hundreds of thousands of words of federal regulations.

The increasingly personal feud comes amid growing turbulence across the airline industry following the collapse of Spirit Airlines, which disrupted travel routes across the country and reportedly cost more than 17,000 jobs.

Trump administration officials blamed the airline’s collapse partly on the Biden administration’s earlier decision to block a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue.

Buttigieg rejected that argument during his CNN appearance, instead blaming rising jet fuel prices tied to conflict involving Iran.

“Trying to reach back a year, two years, three years for excuses for what’s happening on your watch is a tremendous show of weakness,” Buttigieg said.

The exchange reflects growing political tensions as both men increasingly emerge as prominent public faces for their respective parties heading into future national political battles.