Monday’s Headlines Have New Priorities

President Trump and other Republicans are out to discourage electric vehicle ownership and build more highways as quickly as they can.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on February 17, 2025

Now-DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, his wife and seven of their nine children, on a visit with President Trump during his first term.

|Photo: White House

Republican senators who took big campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry introduced a bill that would not only rescind the $7,500 federal tax credit for buying an electric vehicle, but tack on a $1,000 fee (Electrek). However, the Texas Standard interviewed a Wall Street Journal reporter who says EVs are here to stay anyway.
Top Republican transportation officials laid out their priorities for the next surface transportation funding bill at an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conference last week, among them streamline the permitting process, giving states more authority, safety and focusing on roads and bridges. (Transport Topics)
Even though the Biden administration had a mixed record on transportation, the Trump administration is clearly going to be worse, which makes state-level policy all the more important. (streets.mn)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's transportation columnist says Secretary Sean Duffy's memo on birth and marriage rates is "absurd."
With all the concern about crime and shootings in New York City in recent years, drivers are still more likely to kill you than guns. (Gothamist)
A California poll found that 54 percent of Bay Area voters support a half-cent sales tax to avoid major transit cuts, but that's well short of the two-thirds required to pass such a measure. (PR Newswire)
The Austin city council unanimously outlawed parking in a bike lane. (KUT)
Portland will spend $10 million over the next five years on a bike lane maintenance team with two street cleaners and electric leaf blowers to keep bike lanes clear. (BikePortland)
A North Dakota bill would provide $5 million in funding for the state's four largest transit agencies. (Grand Forks Herald)
Tallin, the capital of Estonia, is undertaking a study to reduce road noise. (Smart Cities World)
A new study found that people — well, Germans, at least, maybe not so much Americans — are surprisingly willing to listen to the advice of climate experts, even when it seems counterintuitive. (Anthropocene)
Boxer and former Philippines senator Manny Pacquiao issued a public apology after his security guards were caught driving in a Manilla bus lane. (Panay News)