{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-nadler-blumenthal-push-for-investigation-of-transportation-sec-duffys-conflicts-as-former-airline-lobbyist-amid-passenger-protection-rule-rollbacks", "Warren, Nadler, Blumenthal Push For Investigation of Transportation Sec. Duffy's Conflicts As Former Airline Lobbyist Amid Passenger Protection Rule Rollbacks", "2025-12-18", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", "warren", "https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Warren, Nadler, Blumenthal Push For Investigation of Transportation Sec. Duffy's Conflicts As Former Airline Lobbyist Amid Passenger Protection Rule Rollbacks\n\n\u201cWe are very concerned that Secretary Duffy may have eliminated protections for American travelers (...) in part, as a result of conflicts of interest.\u201d\n\nAs many Americans struggle to afford travel, these changes will hit them right in the wallet\n\nText of Letter (PDF)\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote to the Department of Transportation\u2019s (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) urging him to conduct an investigation into whether Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy\u2019s conflicts of interest contributed to his department ending passenger protection rules, and whether he has favored the airline industry that he previously lobbied for.\n\nInstead of working to make air travel more affordable this holiday season, Secretary Duffy has: ended protections that would\u2019ve required airlines to automatically send passengers cash refunds for certain expenses resulting from flight cancellations or delays of more than 3 hours caused by the airline; halted a rule that required airlines to refund travelers when they canceled flights and rebooked passengers with a different flight number; released new guidance informing airlines that they no longer have to compensate passengers for expenses incurred as a result of delays and cancellations caused by aircraft recalls; and more.\n\n\u201cThe impact of these changes will hit travelers right in the wallet: airlines will keep billions of extra dollars that otherwise would have gone toward reimbursing Americans who the industry has left stranded in airports across the country,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201cThese wins for airlines were delivered by a former industry lobbyist who now leads DOT, Secretary Duffy.\u201d\n\nBefore becoming Secretary of Transportation, Secretary Duffy worked at the lobbying firm BGR Government Affairs, working as an airline industry lobbyist in 2020, and consultant as recently as 2024. He formerly worked for the airline industry coalition Partnership for Open Skies, representing major airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. He also has maintained a relationship with his former firm, previously serving as a member of BGR\u2019s advisory board and a consultant for BGR clients, and even last week attending a sporting event in the suite of BGR\u2019s managing director. The lawmakers laid out their concerns that Secretary Duffy may have ended protections for travelers not based on the good of flying Americans but, at least in part, as a result of conflicts of interest and potential bias related to his former client\u2019s airline members.\n\nGiven the lawmakers\u2019 concerns about bias and conflicts of interest and whether they may have affected the DOT rulemaking process, lawmakers are asking the DOT\u2019s OIG to evaluate the Secretary\u2019s compliance with federal ethics laws and his involvement in regulatory matters that may affect his former clients.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-nadler-blumenthal-push-for-investigation-of-transportation-sec-duffys-conflicts-as-former-airline-lobbyist-amid-passenger-protection-rule-rollbacks"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6528149135410786, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}