WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on Wednesday called for the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to investigate Secretary Sean Duffy’s participation in a corporate-sponsored reality YouTube series featuring his family’s cross-country road trip.
Murray made the request days after a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in which she pressed Duffy on the project’s funding and possible perks from major transportation industry donors. Her call followed an ethics complaint filed in May by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) alleging potential violations of federal gift rules, travel regulations and ethical conduct standards involving transportation industry heavyweights which Duffy regulates.
The five-part YouTube series, “The Great American Road Trip,” shows Duffy, his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy and their nine children traveling the country to promote domestic tourism ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026 all allegedly paid for from corporate sponsorships through a non-profit. Filming began in October 2025 and ran for seven months while Duffy served as transportation secretary.
Great American Road Trip Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization registered in Delaware, fully funded the project through corporate sponsorships. Executive Director Victoria “Tori” Emerson Barnes founded the group and leads it—no other data such as its Board of Directors nor IRS filings can be found. Barnes is also the founding principal of Anchor Solutions LLC, a firm dedicated to helping clients navigate the dynamic intersection of policy, public affairs, and industry transformation operating across travel, transportation and emerging mobility ecosystems, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Anchor Solutions LLC filed as a lobby firm under the Lobby Disclosure Act from 2025-2026 representing U.S. Travel Association (2025 – 2026) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (2025 – 2026). Barnes previously served as executive vice president of public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association, spent more than 14 years in federal affairs and lobbying for General Motors which her efforts led to the enactment of the electric vehicle tax credit for consumers, and worked as a congressional liaison for the Republican National Committee (2021 – 2023).
“The Hill has named Barnes one of Washington’s top lobbyists for four consecutive years,” her bio states on the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. “In 2021, the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics recognized Barnes as a Top Lobbyist. She was also recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in Travel by the Global Business Travel Association’s WINiT and has been selected as a Leading Lobbyist by Association Trends.”
Victoria “Tori” Barnes is also the daughter of former Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO08) and the late Congressman Bill Emerson (R-MO08). She is listed on the board (according to IRS documents reviewed by the Lynnwood Times) of the Congressional Women’s Softball Game and coaches the Members of Congress team which plays an annual game versus women in the press to raise money for the Young Survival Coalition, an organization for young women facing breast cancer. Her sister Katharine “Kat” Emerson, who is the current Chief of Staff for Bayer – North America, has a very long history in government affairs and policy—Monsanto Company where she managed the Monsanto Citizenship Fund, World Food Program USA where she was Director of Strategic Partnership, American Heart Association where she was senior Director of Business Development, and Director of Public Policy for the National Corn Growers Association. Katherine Emerson also worked in political fundraising for 2004 and 2008 congressional elections.
According the FEC filings reviewed by the Lynnwood Times, Tori Barnes has contributed $5,520.51 exclusively to Republican candidates from 2014 through 2024—ROGERS FOR SENATE, FRIENDS OF ROY BLUNT, JOSH HAWLEY FOR SENATE, FRIENDS OF TODD YOUNG, INC., and UPTON FOR ALL OF US.
With regards to Duffy’s Great American Road Trip YouTube series, Boeing and Toyota each contributed $1 million to the nonprofit Great American Road Trip Inc which Tori Barnes founded and manages. Other sponsors for the reality YouTube series included Shell, United Airlines, Comcast, and Royal Caribbean.
Duffy first rose to national attention as a cast member on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997, where he met his future wife Rachel. Bunim/Murray Productions, the company behind that original Real World reality tv show, also was hired to do the filming for the Great American Road Trip series.
During the Senate Appropriations subcommittee May 19 hearing on the Department of Transportation’s fiscal 2027 budget, Senator Murray questioned USDOT Secretary Duffy about what an airline executive or other large donor might receive in return for a contribution towards his Great American Road Trip YouTube reality series and asked him about the family’s gas costs on the trip.
“What perks would an airline executive get for contributing $1 million to your ‘Great American Road Trip’ reality TV show?” Murray asked Sec. Duffy. “If you’re going to let the corporations you regulate pay for your vacation, you need to answer for it.”
Duffy defended the “project,” saying it used no taxpayer money and was meant to highlight American travel destinations for America’s 250th anniversary. He pushed back sharply at one point, speaking over Murray saying, “Welcome to MAGA! Welcome to drill baby drill!”
Duffy pointed to Murray’s own Big Pharma campaign contributions, saying: “If someone from the health industry gives you $2 million, what do you get for it?”
Murray has received $1,623,817 in career campaign contributions from the health care and pharmaceutical industries, according to Federal Election Commission and OpenSecrets data.
Duffy then pressed Senator Murray asking if she hates America and that she should celebrate the 250th birthday of the county’s founding.
Sen. Murray responded saying she found Duffy’s answers “out of touch and irresponsible.”
Two days later on Thursday, May 21, Murray posted a video on X recounting the exchange and said Americans deserve answers: “So I’m calling for an Inspector General investigation.”
In its complaint to the inspector general regarding Duffy’s Great American Road Trip, CREW raised concerns that Duffy accepted gifts or benefits from companies under his department’s oversight, including automakers, airlines and energy firms, creating the appearance of a conflict of interest. The group also questioned whether Duffy used his official position for the private endeavor.
Duffy has said the YouTube series involved no personal financial benefit to him or his family and was independently funded by the nonprofit to celebrate the semiquincentennial. However, via the non-profit Great American Road Trip Inc., funded and managed by Victoria “Tori” Barnes, named as one of Washington’s top lobbyists by The Hill, serving as Principal for Anchor Solutions that is registered as a lobby firm under the Lobby Disclosure Act, and who was a former congressional liaison for the Republican National Committee (RNC), he and his family personally benefitted from the 7-month excursion. It is unknown if Sec. Duffy nor USDOT made the “project” available to the public to join him or be part of the cross-country road trip.
The Lynnwood Times has reached out to the Transportation Department and to Senator Murray’s office for more details as it continues its investigation.
Author: Mario Lotmore
