Establishment-leaning news outlet Axios ran a piece claiming “backlash” against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s support for Wisconsin Republican candidate Michael Alfonso, citing one Badger State podcaster who no longer supports President Donald Trump and is backing another GOP primary candidate.
In mid-June, Axios reported that Duffy is abusing his position as a cabinet secretary to back his son-in-law’s bid to become the congressman for Wisconsin’s seventh congressional district.
The report states that Duffy’s support for Alfonso is “infuriating Republicans in the district who say he’s abusing his office and access to President Trump.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during the announcement of the street race circuit “Freedom 250 Grand Prix Washington, D.C.” Monday, March 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The articles cite one Wisconsin podcaster, Meg Ellefson.
Former drive-time radio host Ellefson said the Transportation secretary is “exploiting his Cabinet position and fame to influence an election and hand one of the nation’s highest offices to his unqualified, 26-year-old son-in-law.”
Ellefson argued she was a strong backer of Duffy’s early career but is “utterly disgusted by this blatant manipulation of voters” and is backing one of Alfonso’s primary rivals instead.
Nathaniel Sizemore, a Duffy spokesman, disputed the idea that Duffy is “abusing” his position to benefit his son-in-law. Sizemore said that Duffy “uses the power of DOT to execute on the president’s ambitious transportation agenda. That’s it.”
He added that Duffy backs Alfonso in his “personal capacity.”
The Duffy spokesman said that Transportation Department ethics officials “screen these events, review the hosts, advise on attendees, and provide recommendations” that Duffy abides by.
Michael Alfonso, a House candidate from Wisconsin, attends an event before President Donald Trump arrives to speak, Friday, June 5, 2026, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Glen Stubbe)
Ellefson, however, abandoned Trump years ago.
In 2022, she wrote an op-ed titled “Why Donald Trump Has Lost My Support.”
In the op-ed, Ellefson wrote, “Trump’s own bad behavior and that of his followers has influenced me the most.” She added that Trump’s “lack of humility has brought out many of the worst qualities among his supporters — and his detractors.”
She wrote, “The Republican Party needs a strong national figure to lead the party. I have not yet seen any evidence that Trump is capable of humbling himself and truly putting America first by focusing on and prioritizing saving conservatism and the Republican Party. This is why Trump has lost me and many of us who were once his strongest supporters.”
Trump in January endorsed Alfonso, calling him a “MAGA warrior.”
Alfonso argued this week on Breitbart News Saturday that voters want Congress to act and make President Trump’s agenda even longer lasting.
He argued that voters understand that Democrats are the “the party of seizing assets, boys in girls’ bathrooms, and defunding the police.”
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