Corporate Giants Fund Transportation Secretary’s Family Reality TV Show Ahead of U.S. Bicentennial

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s seven-month cross-country road trip with his wife and nine children was not funded by Duffy himself—despite his multimillionaire status and taxpayer-funded salary. Instead, the expenses were covered by a nonprofit organization, Great American Road Trip Inc. (GART), a 501(c)4 entity launched in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

GART was established around August 2025 by Tori Barnes, according to a Forbes report published on Thursday. Barnes, whose LinkedIn profile indicates nearly two decades as a lobbyist for General Motors before joining the U.S. Travel Association, played a key role in the initiative.

The nonprofit’s funding sources include a coalition of major corporations, prominently featured on its website. Among the backers are:

• Aircraft manufacturer Boeing
• Carmaker Toyota
• Energy giant Shell
• Tech company Google
• Cruise operator Royal Caribbean Group
• Airlines United Airlines and Chase Travel
• The U.S. Travel Association

According to a Politico report from Tuesday, sponsorships for the project ranged from $100,000 to $1 million.

The reality TV series, produced in collaboration with Fox News, is slated for release on YouTube ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. However, not all 50 states will be featured. Duffy’s journey covered just eight states and Washington, D.C.: Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Montana, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.

Duffy’s Vision: Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday

In a promotional interview on Fox News last week, Duffy explained the origins of the project. He described it as his personal initiative to honor America’s upcoming milestone.

“I wanted to lean in to America’s 250th birthday,” Duffy said. “And so over the course of seven months we just kind of found these moments where I might be able to do some work, take the kids with me, do a road trip—and our motto is to love America is to see America. There’s so much to see in this beautiful country.”

Duffy also noted that he and his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, first met during a road trip for MTV’s Real World spinoff, Road Rules: All Stars, in 1998.

Backlash Over Corporate Funding

Campos-Duffy later clarified that the project stemmed from a suggestion by former President Donald Trump, who encouraged Cabinet members to find ways to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The initiative has since drawn significant criticism, which Duffy attributes to “the radical, miserable left.” The use of corporate funding for a government-linked project has raised questions about transparency and potential conflicts of interest.