The Trump administration's new transportation secretary, former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy, had been in his role for a matter of hours when the collision happened.
Duffy took the oath of office at the Supreme Court on Tuesday and was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Vance earlier in the day Wednesday.
By Wednesday evening, he was at the scene of the crash.
Duffy tweeted that he has offered the Department of Transportation's "complete assistance" to the federal, state and local leaders involved. He said he had directed the department and the FAA to "provide full support to ... all responding agencies and authorities."
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