{"id":237131,"date":"2026-05-19T19:46:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/237131\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T19:46:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:46:55","slug":"live-updates-trumps-deal-to-settle-lawsuit-blocks-i-r-s-claims-against-president-and-his-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/237131\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Updates: Trump’s Deal to Settle Lawsuit Blocks I.R.S. Claims Against President and His Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Karoun<\/a><\/p>\n

May 19, 2026, 2:08 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

Sean Duffy will testify amid questions about a road trip YouTube series.<\/a>Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy may also face questions over how his department has addressed staffing shortages in air traffic control.Credit…Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/p>\n

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy is expected to face a grilling when he appears on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon amid questions about whether he violated ethics standards while filming a YouTube series featuring his family taking an all-expenses-paid road trip.<\/p>\n

The Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing is the first of two Mr. Duffy has scheduled for this week. It is intended to go over the Transportation Department\u2019s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, and to review progress on initiatives such as Mr. Duffy\u2019s pledge to modernize air traffic control.<\/p>\n

But scrutiny of the Duffy family\u2019s forthcoming \u201cGreat American Road Trip\u201d series, which was paid for by a new nonprofit<\/a> funded by hefty contributions from companies regulated by the Transportation Department, has become a major issue for the cabinet secretary.<\/p>\n

Several Democrats have raised concerns about the funding of the reality-show-style series, which begins to air in June. Toyota, Boeing, United and Shell are among the companies that have donated to a nonprofit that is underwriting the project, which the Transportation Department has said is part of its official efforts to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States\u2019 founding. The nonprofit is not required to disclose its donors, and a government watchdog called on the department\u2019s inspector general to look into the matter.<\/p>\n

So far, Republicans have not joined the pile-on.<\/p>\n

Mr. Duffy and his representatives say the project was cleared by the department\u2019s ethics and budget officials. In a memorandum of agreement, the nonprofit and the department stated that the private funds \u2014 which covered the Duffys\u2019 gas, car rentals, hotels and other production costs \u2014 would be treated as a gift to the department.<\/p>\n

The memo said the nonprofit would receive no preferential treatment from the department on regulatory matters in exchange for its participation. But those terms do not apply to the nonprofit\u2019s corporate donors, who are not signatories. Nor did it explain how the funds that covered the expenses accrued by Mr. Duffy\u2019s wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a Fox News anchor, and their nine children counted as official department business.<\/p>\n

Mr. Duffy may face similar questions about other areas in which his actions have blended the line between his official and personal \u2014 or corporate \u2014 ventures, particularly around the national 250th birthday.<\/p>\n

Mr. Duffy may also face questions over how the department has addressed staffing shortages in air traffic control, a long-running crisis that came into sharp focus after a 2025 midair collision outside Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington that killed 67.<\/p>\n

Mr. Duffy has made efforts to improve flying safety a centerpiece of his department leadership. But last week, the Federal Aviation Administration \u2014 an agency housed in the Transportation Department \u2014 revised down estimates<\/a> of how many controllers the system needed to be fully staffed, arguing that it could close gaps with more efficient scheduling. On Monday, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the change was based on a flawed study.<\/p>\n

Mr. Duffy may also be challenged about his department\u2019s efforts to stop states from issuing trucking licenses to immigrants for terms longer than their federal work permits. It has said it will withhold highway funds from these states.<\/p>\n

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