U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy tours Port of L.A.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made a visit to the Port of Los Angeles on Friday, June 13, where he announced ongoing work on a federal initiative designed to accelerate cargo processing and provide more visibility for the nation’s major supply chain hubs.

In earlier months, Duffy had met with port Executive Director Gene Seroka on one of the latter’s trips to Washington, D.C., and was invited to visit the largest shipping port in the Western Hemisphere.

The visit began with a tour of the port on board a Los Angeles Police Department diving vessel. Afterward, Duffy spoke with reporters about the new cargo initiative that will go next to Congress.

Named the American Supply Chain Sovereignty Initiative, the plan, he said, would launch a high-visibility dashboard connecting hubs such as the Port of Los Angeles directly to ocean carriers, trucking companies, railroads and retailers.

Duffy is calling on Congress to include the necessary legislation in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. It would authorize the Transportation Department to create a framework with the flexibility to more securely streamline national logistics, a news release from the department said.

Comparing it to flights in which those who are pre-screened can move faster, Duffy said the upgraded cargo flow plan would also work under the idea of “two separate lines” for shipping containers that are pre-screened and one for those that are not pre-screened.

The goal is for products to move faster, he said, adding that “time is money.”

On the boat tour before the remarks, Seroka said he and the secretary discussed a number of other items, including the efforts to boost clean and sufficient energy to power the facility and a possible future effort to build a new bridge to replace the Vincent Thomas that spans across the shipping channel.

Seroka, who met with Duffy in Washington a few months ago and invited him to visit the port, said he had sought the secretary’s advice for possible federal assistance for a bridge replacement.

“As you know, this bridge is 63 years old,” Seroka said during the joint news conference. “I was looking to the secretary for advice” on the federal government’s ability to partner in the collaboration to make the upgrade.

The bridge no longer can accommodate some of the newer container or cruise ships that must pass under it, Seroka said, noting that 40% of the port’s container terminals are located behind the bridge, now posing accessibility challenges.

“Container ships are getting much taller, and much faster,” he said, and cruise ships are also growing in size and capacity. “The cruise ship at Berth 92 today cannot even go under the bridge; it has to back in.

“I’d like to see a new bridge built,” Seroka added. “I’d like to see it wider and taller and have safety lanes. But there’s a lot between ‘here and there.’”

The port is already working with the state on the issue, he said.

Duffy, an attorney and former television personality before serving as the U.S. secretary of transportation since January 2025, indicated an openness to the idea of some assistance in the effort.

“Sometimes communities come to me — and I get it — they say this is a great project, I have a great vision,” he said, asking then that the federal government fund 100% of it.

While the government will agree to some of those, he said, projects that already are partly self funded and are seeking additional partnerships will likely find a door in Washington that’s more open.

“We want to make sure that 25 years from now, you are still the largest port and that takes vision” and a private-public partnership coming together, Duffy said of the Port of L.A. “This is at the infancy stage, I’d say, but all great ideas start with a spark.”

“We need to make sure we modernize this port for the future,” Seroka said. “I’ve gotten some great advice today and will be reporting back to the Secretary.”

Acknowledging the sometimes strained relationship between California and the Trump administration, Duffy said the Department of Transportation transcends partisanship in its dedication to improve and modernize America’s roads, ports and airports.

“This is not a partisan concept,” he said of the goals to move cargo more efficiently and to adapt roads and waterways to  to changing times and industries. “This is American infrastructure.”