Sean Duffy: "Trump He moves lightning quick"

Duffy: "As you can see, I-40 is behind me. This is the eastbound lane. It is completely destroyed along much of the stretch between North Carolina and Tennessee.

Our role as the Department of Transportation is to provide funding and expertise to the two departments in North Carolina and Tennessee to rebuild this critical section. It is a crucial route that connects people and commerce, not just between these states but across the entire country. That’s why we are here, assessing the damage and calculating how much money this reconstruction will cost.

By the way, it will take billions of dollars to rebuild just this section of the highway. Additionally, as you can see, it has been wiped out. Rocks will be needed to fill it in and rebuild the road. We can source rocks from 30 or 40 miles away, but that will take a lot of time and money.

However, the Forest Service can partner with us, and we believe they are very close—just a mile and a half over this mountain. We can access rocks that will reduce costs and the time required to rebuild this highway.

That’s why we are here, evaluating and looking at how we can collaborate with local officials to rebuild quickly. Donald Trump does not operate at the pace of previous administrations. He acts swiftly. We want to move fast, we want to do it cost-effectively, and we want to do it safely."