President Donald Trump is going out of his way to limit shutdown pain on Americans, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a discussion with Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle on Friday.
Duffy spoke about the impact of the Democrat shutdown from his perspective as Transportation Secretary, noting that there will be a reduction in flights so they can mitigate risks, as air traffic controllers are not going to receive a second paycheck and many are opting to find a second job.
“Open the damn government. Vote to open the government,” he said in response to Democrats complaining about his actions. “So those who snipe at me for having to take really unique action, they put that on my plate, so open it up.”
Describing President Donald Trump as a “machine,” Duffy said he is truly working to minimize the pain Americans are feeling with Democrats refusing to reopen the government.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (R) during a discussion with Breitbart News Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle (L) on Friday, November 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Breitbart News)
“He’s a machine, and I love that I have a president that is going to work that hard to serve the American people, to make the country great. … Every moment he has, he’s maximizing. There’s not vacation time. It’s work time. And even his kids will talk about in his businesses, he worked. He worked really hard. And he’s working even harder than he did in his businesses for the American people,” Duffy said, drawing a contrast between Trump and former President Barack Obama.
“Even in the shutdown in the Barack Obama era … Obama was trying to make it really painful on the American people [during the] shutdown,” he said, shutting down trails and open-air parks.
“Make it painful for – President Trump actually loves America. Loves Americans. He’s tried to make it less painful. And you might argue that’s bad politics, because there’s no pressure on, limited pressure on Democrats. … He doesn’t want people to be in pain. He wants the country to be better off. He wants to serve the American people and make their lives better and make it great,” Duffy said.
“And when you have a shutdown that goes against the grain of trying to make the country great, and so he tries to minimize that. And I love that about him, that every day he wakes up and works longer, fuller days to make the country incredibly great and everyone prosperous,” he added.
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