Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's six-part YouTube series "Great American Road Trip" premiered Wednesday after months of delays. The show follows Duffy, his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their nine children across seven states in 30-minute episodes filmed over seven months.

Ethical concerns center on corporate sponsors regulated by the Department of Transportation, including Boeing, Shell, Toyota, United Airlines, and Royal Caribbean. Democratic senators Patty Murray and Kirsten Gillibrand called the arrangement "pay for play" during a May hearing. The Duffy family insists no taxpayer funds were used, with production costs covered by the non-profit Great American Road Trip, Inc.

Episodes feature visits to Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and Rocky Steps, Boston college tours, Yellowstone snowmobiling, a Boeing factory in Charleston, a Texas dude ranch, and Arizona's Grand Canyon with a Waymo self-driving car ride. Duffy oversees agencies regulating aviation (Boeing) and autonomous vehicles (Waymo).

At the congressional hearing, Duffy defended the series as uniting Americans through travel. "Do you hate America?" he asked Murray. Gillibrand countered that sponsor oversight creates clear conflicts of interest. All episodes are now on the DOT YouTube channel.