Well, good afternoon, everybody. I'm thrilled to be here of course with our Secretary of Transportation designee, Mr. Duffy and his beautiful family, all nine kids. I joke that these guys are doing their best to solve the fertility crisis in the United States of America and, uh, just just just a beautiful family.
[Laughter] And it's really a testament and a credit to our great country that such a family is willing to serve first of course in Congress and now the secretary of transportation. I think that I'm not being too mean to our predecessors in saying that we spent a lot of money in the last administration but didn't get a lot out of it, and I think we're going to have a secretary of transportation here who is a much better steward of taxpayer dollars but also makes sure those taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and actually go to the places that the administration needs them to go. So, we're thrilled that you're willing to serve.
Of course, thrilled by the president's nominating you and grateful to our Senate colleagues, especially Senator Blackburn, Senator Sullivan here for making it possible for you not to just be the nominee but now the secretary of transportation. But first before that, you've got to -- you've got to take this oath of office.
So, let's go ahead and do that. If you would, put your hand on the Bible and raise your right hand. I, Sean Duffy.
I, Sean Duffy.
Do solemnly swear.
Do solemnly swear.
That I will support and defend.
That I will support and defend.
The Constitution of the United States.
The Constitution of the United States.
Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
That I take this obligation freely.
That I take this obligation freely.
Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
And that I will well and faithfully discharge.
And that I will well and faithfully discharge.
The duties of the office on which I am about to enter.
The duties of the office about which I am to enter.
So help you God.
So help me God. [Laughter]
Congratulations, Mr. Secretary.
Well, Mr. Vice President, thank you for taking the time to swear us in today. I'm so appreciative of that. Um, I want to take a moment and thank, uh, probably the greatest -- the greatest president we've had in our lifetime but maybe the greatest president ever, Donald J. Trump, for giving me this amazing opportunity to serve as a secretary in this administration in the Department of Transportation.
I'm very grateful for his trust. I want to thank my wife Rachel who has been with me for 25 years. How she's lasted so long, I'm not quite sure, but I'm grateful for that. And our nine kids. Seven of them are with us today. So, thank you to them. Uh, Senator -- uh, Senators who are here, uh, Sullivan and Blackburn, uh, your support -- I'm so grateful to and for the committee and their support and help as we've gone through the process.
Uh, thank you for that. And to my Sherpa team, uh who has been so helpful, um, in getting us through the process -- everyone says it's a hard process, and you don't really know how hard it is until you actually go through it, um, personally. But if I could take a moment, um, we are going to usher in the golden age of transportation.
We're going to work on efficiency, making sure our infrastructure actually works for the American people, for the American family, making sure that you can get to and from work back to your family in a timely fashion. We're going to work on congestion, work on an airspace that is more efficient, getting people to fly in airplanes and not wait in terminals is -- is our mission.
But I think we're in an amazing time, as well, because when you think of the Department of Transportation, you don't think of innovation, and we are in one of the most innovative spaces I think in government, Mr. Vice President, whether it's with drones or autonomous vehicles or eVTOLs or to say Uber is in the air, another term for them.
But we are in a race to beat the rest of the world and to make sure we have rules in place that are going to make America the best home for this innovation is critical. We are going to work on that at the Department of Transportation. 47,000 employees strong. Um, I guess that's not going to grow at all, uh, with the new executive order.
[Laughter] But it's a great team, and I look forward to working with them. And again, I'm honored, uh, that you did this today, Mr. Vice President. I'm honored for the president and his trust that he's placed in me. And, uh, with that, let's get to work. Thank you.
[Inaudible]
She's five.
She's so cute. All right, guys. Um, I think we'll take some photos.
She's a bit of a hugger. [Laughter]
Here we go. All right.
[Crosstalk]
That's right.
[Crosstalk]
Marsha, were you talking to me or talking to her? [Laughter] Now, to make this fully official, we've got to sign this. So, let's take this and thank you all for being here. God bless you.
Thank you.
Take care, guys. [Inaudible]