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Who is Sean Duffy, the new transportation secretary responding to the DC plane crash?

Sean Duffy, the new transportation secretary, is facing his first major crisis just hours after his swearing-in.

Duffy, who was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday, quickly emerged as a public face of the federal government’s response to the deadly plane crash at Reagan National Airport, the closest airport to Washington, D.C. An Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members Wednesday night while the plane was landing, sending it careening into the frigid Potomac River. All onboard are feared dead in what is shaping up to be the deadliest U.S. air crash in decades.

“Our new Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy — his second day on the job when that happened. That’s a rough one,” Trump said as they appeared together during a White House briefing Thursday. “Great gentleman. Just started. It’s not your fault,” he later said.

Here are some things to know about Duffy:

'Not Gonna Quit': DeSantis Hints at New Special Session Over Immigration Bill Clash

After Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to veto a contentious immigration bill he called "weak," he hinted that the legislature may be called into another special session to address immigration issues that he supports.

DeSantis made the comments Wednesday after the GOP-controlled Legislature replaced 10 of his immigration proposals with an 84-page bill of their own, which they approved late last night. The governor had previously warned he would push for another special session if the Legislature rebelled, likening himself to a “junkyard dog” latched to lawmakers' ankles over the issue. And he's not changing his tune.

"We're not gonna quit on this, it's just too important to quit on," DeSantis said at a Titusville roundtable, echoing earlier comments that this issue cannot wait until the regular session in March. "We're gonna keep digging in until we actually get the job done."

DeSantis's remarks come hours before President Donald Trump is expected to sign the first bill of his administration, the Laken Riley Act. Named after a Georgia college student murdered by an illegal immigrant, the new law will require federal officials to detain any unauthorized migrants accused of a crime.

Ron DeSantis ready to help Donald Trump deportations to Gitmo

Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on his call to get migrants out of the U.S. and into Guantánamo Bay in the wake of President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was leaving the lights on for them at the military base on the Cuban archipelago.

DeSantis posted to social media Wednesday that he’s “happy to send flights from Florida down that way with deportees in tow,” in the wake of Trump saying he’s telling the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to “begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay” for an influx of undocumented immigrants.

“We have 30,000 beds in Guantánamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people. Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re going to send them out to Guantanamo,” Trump said “That’s a tough place to get out of.”

The Trump Executive Order calls “to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay to full capacity to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States, and to address attendant immigration enforcement needs … in order to halt the border invasion, dismantle criminal cartels, and restore national sovereignty.”

Senate Judiciary Committee recommends Pam Bondi be confirmed as Attorney General

The Senate Judiciary Committee has recommended Pam Bondi be confirmed as the next U.S. Attorney General, advancing her nomination on a party-line 12-10 vote. “Her record and her testimony showed the American people that she will follow through and enforce the law fairly, without fear or favor,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and Chair of the committee.

Grassley cited testimony from Florida officials who worked with Bondi during her eight years as Florida Attorney General. He made special note of Democrat Dave Aronberg, a former Palm Beach State Attorney, and Florida’s statewide prosecutor, Nicholas Cox, testifying to Bondi’s character.

But the Committee broke largely along party lines, with Democrats voting against her recommendation.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee’s ranking Democratic member, said his greatest concern was whether Bondi will prioritize loyalty to President Donald Trump over the rule of law. He said the removal of more than 20 career prosecutors from the Department of Justice since Trump’s inauguration already showed the administration will run roughshod over federal statutes.