Sean Duffy, the new transportation secretary, is facing his first major crisis just hours after his swearing-in. Duffy, who was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday, quickly emerged as a public face of the federal government's response to the deadly plane crash at Reagan National Airport,

Mr. Duffy, a former congressman who had appeared on track to sail through with little opposition, overcame a last-minute swell of Democratic anger over the White House’s sweeping funding freeze.