Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 8
2 Ex-Duffy Staffers Join 6-Member Nonprofit Board Funding Video Series, Raising Ethics Concerns
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 8

2 Ex-Duffy Staffers Join 6-Member Nonprofit Board Funding Video Series, Raising Ethics Concerns

2 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jun 8

Summary

  • A Delaware filing shows Mark Bednar and Maxwell Docksey are among the six directors of Great American Road Trip Inc., the nonprofit that paid production costs for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s family road-trip video series.
  • Both men previously worked for Duffy in the House, and Bednar now lobbies for Peraton, which won an FAA contract worth up to $1.5 billion tied to air traffic control modernization — a Duffy priority.
  • Kedric Payne of the Campaign Legal Center said the former staffers’ involvement, including a lobbyist for a DOT contractor, presents an ethical concern around the series.
  • Tori Barnes, who leads the nonprofit, said Bednar and Docksey are unpaid volunteer board members with no fundraising role, while DOT said the group’s staffing is its own matter and department decisions are made by career professionals.

Insights

When a cabinet secretary's project is funded by regulated industries, where is the line between public promotion and improper influence?
Why does a new air safety bill include tax breaks for private jet owners, and what is the public cost?
With air safety legislation stalled, how are regulators addressing the known risks that led to last year's deadly midair collision?