Overview
- At least one company declined to sponsor Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s family road trip after deciding the deal looked like paying for access, according to Politico.
- Tori Barnes, who runs the nonprofit behind the project, rejected that claim and said meetings on the tour did not depend on sponsorships.
- The Transportation Department said career ethics lawyers cleared Duffy’s role and said no taxpayer money paid for production, with costs covered by Great American Road Trip Inc.
- The watchdog group CREW asked the department’s inspector general to review possible violations of federal gift and travel rules related to the project.
- The nonprofit lists corporate partners including Toyota and Boeing, and the five-part series is slated for a free release on YouTube in June.