Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is set to headline a meet-and-greet event for his son-in-law, Michael Alfonso, who is running for Congress in Wisconsin, but the White House did not approve it.
Duffy, who previously held the same Wisconsin seat before retiring in 2018, is now backing his son-in-law to win the seat vacated by Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor.
The event is scheduled for Nov. 11 and will be a meet-and-greet with Alfonso and Duffy in Wisconsin. However, Duffy did not clear the event with the administration, a source familiar with the matter told NOTUS, and President Donald Trump has not endorsed anyone in the race.
“Leave it to D.C. gossip to find a father supporting his son-in-law breaking news,” a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said in a statement. “The secretary would be attending his son-in-law’s meet and greet in his personal capacity. His presence does not reflect any official administration position or endorsement.”
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Still, this has angered some in Trumpworld, with one source close to the White House calling it a “world-class stupid decision” by Duffy.
Especially because this is not the first time this has happened.
Back in May, Duffy was scheduled to host a fundraiser for Rep. Bill Huizenga, who at the time was strongly considering a bid for U.S. Senate in Michigan. However, President Donald Trump’s administration was planning to back former Rep. Mike Rogers in the race, and those in Trumpworld were blindsided and infuriated when Duffy’s name showed up on a fundraising invitation, sources told NOTUS.
In light of that, Politico reported that the White House was considering imposing further restrictions on cabinet secretaries participating in GOP primaries to avoid a similar scenario in the future.
This comes on the heels of reports that Trumpworld and aides in the White House were starting to get annoyed with Duffy and his attempts to fold NASA into the Department of Transportation to keep him at the helm of the space agency.
Sources previously told NOTUS that Duffy was causing “unnecessary chaos” rather than “accept that his time is in the sunset” at NASA.
Earlier this week, Trump re-appointed Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, snubbing Duffy from remaining as administrator.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The fundraiser also comes as the Federal Aviation Agency, which falls under Duffy’s purview, announced that it plans to significantly reduce flights at more than 40 airports across the U.S. amid the government shutdown.
Duffy said he will reduce capacity by as much as 10%, which would amount to more than 3,500 flights daily.
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