WASHINGTON – Central Wisconsin's Sean Duffy is facing his first big test as secretary of the Department of Transportation just one day after he was sworn into office. A commercial jet carrying 64 people collided in midair with an Army helicopter carrying three servicemembers Wednesday night near Washington,

Vice President JD Vance, left, shakes hands with Sean Duffy after swearing him in as secretary of transportation as his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, holds the Bible in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Duffy was sworn into the Cabinet position just hours before an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had been sworn in just hours before the deadly midair collision of a plane and helicopter near Washington, D.C.

Sean Duffy has been confirmed as transportation secretary, giving him a key role in President Donald Trump's administration.

Duffy does not have a background in transportation, similar to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg when he arrived four years ago.

Newly appointed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said during a press conference that both aircrafts involved in a deadly midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport were both in standard flight patterns.

Duffy, formerly a reality TV star and Wisconsin congressman, was confirmed as the new transportation secretary on Tuesday.

Washington, D.C. fire chief said on Thursday that there are likely no survivors in the midair collision of a passenger plane and a helicopter near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Wednesday night.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy promised to improve the nation's transportation infrastructure and systems after Vice President JD Vance swore in Duffy on Wednesday afternoon.

Latest news and live updates after an American Airline jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.