Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at a White House press briefing on January 30, 2025 (Joshua Sukoff/ Shutterstock.com)
For the 250th anniversary celebration of America, President Donald Trump plans to turn the White House lawn into an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts spectacle. Now, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy wants to turn the area around the U.S. Capitol into an IndyCar Grand Prix race.
Secretary Duffy is pushing to host an IndyCar race on the National Mall in August as part of the America250 celebration, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort,” Punchbowl News reported.
Past actions show that President Trump doesn’t need congressional approval to transform the White House, but Secretary Duffy does need Congress to approve his drag race proposal.
“Congress needs to pass a bill for the race because there’s a ban on advertising on the Capitol grounds,” and “IndyCar vehicles are famously adorned with lots of ads,” Punchbowl explained.
Democrats oppose Duffy’s plan for multiple reasons.
There is concern about the impact the race cars would have on U.S. Capitol Police, and on area roads. But there are other concerns as well.
“Democrats feel as if Republicans haven’t been helpful to them. Why should Democrats assist Republicans with this if the GOP has refused to hang any plaque honoring the victims of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, one aide said to us.”
“Several Democrats told us that it seems absurd for Congress to OK an IndyCar race in D.C. when lawmakers won’t even extend health care subsidies for millions of Americans,” Punchbowl added.
A Transportation spokesperson told Punchbowl, “The Grand Prix is an unprecedented opportunity to celebrate our nation’s proud racing pedigree, showcase the beauty of the National Mall, and generate millions in critical tourism revenue for the Capital.”
Meanwhile, some critics also oppose the idea.
“We would like healthcare, affordable groceries and housing please,” wrote health care activist Melanie D’Arrigo.
“This is a fun notion, but doing an Indycar race through residential areas in a big city is, well, costly,” observed researcher Matt Stoller.
Tré Easton, a vice president at Searchlight Institute, commented, “expensive bread and s — — circuses.”