Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW), the progressive nonprofit organization co-founded by former White House Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform Norm Eisen, has filed an ethics complaint against President Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
In May, Duffy and his wife, Fox News star Rachel Campos-Duffy, revealed that over a recent seven-month period, the Duffys and their children had filmed episodes of a new reality series, “The Great American Road Trip,” including a stop at the Oval Office to visit the President.
Top sponsors of the Duffy show are Shell Oil, Boeing, and Toyota. The executive director of The Great American Road Trip is Tori Barnes, a veteran Washington, D.C. lobbyist and General Motors public affairs executive.
Sean Duffy reveals he spent 7 months making a reality TV show while serving as Transportation Secretary pic.twitter.com/3PbQmPKrhV
— FactPost (@factpostnews) May 8, 2026
CREW announced its complaint on social media: “We’re not over DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s family cross-country road trip sponsored by corporations in the industry he regulates. So we’ve filed a complaint.”
The complaint calls on the Transportation Department Office of Inspector General to investigate whether Duffy violated federal gift and travel rules, and noted that a Toyota was prominently featured in a promotional video for the series.
We’re not over DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s family cross-country road trip sponsored by corporations in the industry he regulates.
So we’ve filed a complaint.https://t.co/wY7GzgcMZK
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) June 1, 2026
Secretary Duffy has defended the show, saying it was a way to encourage Americans to take road trips this summer, to celebrate the 250th birthday, and that no taxpayer money was used to make it.
At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing with Duffy, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) scolded Duffy, saying: “Your vacation was paid for by Boeing, Toyota, United Airlines, Enterprise, Shell, Royal Caribbean Group” and noting that his agency regulates those companies. She added, “This road trip doesn’t smell right.”
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reacted to the show on social media: “I love a good road trip, but this is brutally out of touch: a Trump Cabinet member making a documentary about himself while regular families can’t afford road trips anymore, because Trump and his war put gas prices through the roof.”