{"id":2175,"date":"2026-08-04T18:11:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coasttocoastmoverss.com\/?p=2175"},"modified":"2026-08-04T18:11:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:11:24","slug":"sean-duffys-road-trip-sponsors-spent-100-million-lobbying-congress-last-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coasttocoastmoverss.com\/?p=2175","title":{"rendered":"Sean Duffy\u2019s Road Trip Sponsors Spent $100 Million Lobbying Congress Last Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Crucial Quote<\/h2>\n

\u201cSummer is nearly over and the American people haven\u2019t seen a single episode of this reality TV show\u2014so what did the corporate sponsors who helped fund this road trip actually pay for?\u201d Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told Forbes in an email. <\/p>\n

Read more Powerball Jackpot Nears $800 Million\u2014Here\u2019s How Taxes Will Impact Winnings<\/a><\/p>\n

How Much Did Corporate Sponsors Spend On Duffy\u2019s Road Trip Series?<\/h2>\n

Nearly every sponsor declined to share with Forbes how much they spent but it\u2019s reasonable they collectively spent as much as $5 million. The Great American Road Trip, Inc., a non-profit organization, sold top-tier \u201cplatinum\u201d partnerships for $1 million, with \u201cgold\u201d ($500,000), \u201csilver\u201d ($250,000) and \u201cbronze\u201d ($100,000) levels also available. Two of the top three \u201cplatinum\u201d sponsors\u2014Boeing<\/strong> and Toyota<\/strong>\u2014spent $1 million each. The series website shows the logo of the British multinational oil and gas company Shell<\/strong> on the same tier, indicating a similar level of spend. Electronic Payments Coalition<\/strong>, a lobbying group representing the interests of major payment card networks, told Forbes it \u201cwas a sponsor of the road trip\u201d but would not say how much it had contributed. Google, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, United Airlines, Lyft<\/strong> and CRH<\/strong>, a provider of building materials for highways and other critical infrastructure, did not respond to Forbes\u2019 inquiries on how much they contributed to the road trip. The American Bus Association<\/strong> confirmed it was a bronze-level ($100,000) sponsor, while other organizations displayed at the same level told Forbes they had provided logistical support as \u201cin-kind contributions\u201d in lieu of financial contributions.<\/p>\n

Have The Corporate Sponsors Been Compensated For The Delayed Launch?<\/h2>\n

Each level of partnership promised a set of deliverable benefits, ranging from logo placement and recognition on the series website<\/u> to inclusion in a specific number of social media posts, mentions in email campaigns and VIP invitations to receptions and networking events, according to the obtained by Politico in May. The pitch deck states, \u201cIf deliverables are delayed or altered, [Great American Road Trip] will provide comparable substitute benefits in consultation with Sponsor.\u201d Forbes queried every sponsor asking if it had been offered alternative benefits or reimbursement, but only one responded. \u201cNothing to add on this one,\u201d Krista Edwards, spokesperson for Shell, told Forbes in an email. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

How Much Do The Series Sponsors Spend in Federal Lobbying?<\/h2>\n

The corporate sponsors collectively spent more than $100 million in federal lobbying in 2025, according to their quarterly LD-2 disclosure filings.<\/p>\n

Read more Over $100 Million In Bitcoin Stolen By \u2018Numerous\u2019 Hackers\u2014How A Software Bug Made It Possible<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Has The Great American Road Trip Series Received Blowback?<\/h2>\n

\u201cThe administration continues to create these opportunities for corporate interests, to say nothing of the foreign ones, to fund their pet projects,\u201d Donald Sherman, president and CEO of the liberal-leaning legal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told Forbes. The Transportation Secretary\u2014whose previous jobs include reality TV star, U.S. Congressman and lobbyist for the U.S. airline industry\u2014has said promoting summer road trips was a \u201ccivic experience\u201d and part of his job. To film the five-part series, his family of 11 took eight separate mini trips over a seven-month period stretching from September 2025 through April 2026. Critics say the Duffy family was compensated in corporate-sponsored perks<\/u>, including flights, hotel stays, a cruise, whitewater rafting, snowmobiling and skiing. In addition, many of the road trip\u2019s corporate sponsors\u2014including Boeing, United Airlines, Royal Caribbean, Toyota, Shell, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Lyft\u2014are regulated by Duffy\u2019s department. In June, a group of six Democratic U.S. senators led by Murray the Department of Transportation inspector general to open an official investigation into Duffy\u2019s involvement in the show due to \u201cpotential misconduct and violations of federal laws, rules, and regulations\u201d and alleging \u201cthe Secretary accepted gas, lodging, and other travel expenses from a non-profit funded by the very companies the Secretary regulates.\u201d Last month, Department of Transportation spokesperson Sizemore told Forbes in an email that \u201ccareer ethics officials cleared every aspect of the Secretary\u2019s participation in the Great American Road Trip.\u201d <\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy Took A Corporate-Sponsored Family Road Trip. Taxpayers Paid His Salary The Whole Way.<\/u> (Forbes)<\/p>\n

Read more Max Miller Wants Ethics Investigation Into Himself Over Abuse Allegations<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer\u2019s almost over and Sean Duffy\u2019s controversial road trip reality series has yet to launch, leaving corporate sponsors out millions of dollars and critics asking what the money was really for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nSean Duffy\u2019s Road Trip Sponsors Spent $100 Million Lobbying Congress Last Year - Coast to Coast Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coasttocoastmoverss.com\/?p=2175\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sean Duffy\u2019s Road Trip Sponsors Spent $100 Million Lobbying Congress Last Year - 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