Dems Push for Guardrails to Shield Federal Transportation Grants From Trump Meddling

President Trump has spent much of his second term canceling transportation grants authorized by Congress and now a group of Democratic Party senators wants legislative guardrails to stop him before lawmakers pass the next infrastructure bill.

Some $2.8 billion in grants had yet to be paid out as of last month, despite being authorized under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was approved in the previous administration. The Trump administration’s holds, overseen by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, have specifically targeted projects that promote transit, biking and other sustainable modes, in addition to anything that so much as mention equity.

The infrastructure law expires on Sept. 30, after which Congress will need to pass another surface transportation authorization bill. The Build America 250 Act put forward by House Republicans contains up to 15 percent less funding for transit, according to Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute.

Worse, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and 15 of Democratic colleagues say the public can’t trust that the Build American 250 Act will accomplish its stated goals if the executive branch can simply ignore its funding mandates.

The senators called on their colleagues to ensure Trump or any other president follow the law as set by Congress.

“As a condition of passing any surface transportation reauthorization, the Trump administration must immediately cease its politically motivated attacks on infrastructure projects,” Markey and Co. wrote in a June 3 letter to Senate Appropriations Committee leaders. “Congress cannot have confidence in a final bill — even one that is bipartisan and negotiated in good faith — if the Administration is actively failing to implement the laws already in place.”

Furthermore, the bill “must include protections for existing and future grant funding against inappropriate political interference” by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the letter continued.

“If this Administration remains able to ignore any compromise and act in a partisan, political manner, it casts the value of any legislative exercise into question. Americans should have confidence that DOT is distributing infrastructure grant funding in an objective, neutral manner and not weaponizing this funding to serve President Trump’s political agenda.”

Markey’s letter was co-signed by 15 Democrats and zero Republicans, but Republican representatives have just as much reason to care, as the IIJA funded projects across the country, not just in “blue” states.

Many Biden-era federal grants have already expired since Duffy took office and put them on hold. The money would have funded programs like electric vehicle charging program in Milwaukee and a safe streets redesign in Kalamazoo.

Senators should refuse to pass the reauthorization until Trump and Duffy unlock the unexpired funds, said Beth Osbourne, the executive director of Transportation for America.

“Getting these grants reinstated should be a threshold issue for all members of Congress. Anything less is malpractice,” Osbourne said.

Markey for his part seems ready to fight for just that.

“Building a world class transportation system requires stability and trust. We have no chance of reducing road deaths, cutting emissions, or building a more affordable system if infrastructure funding can be frozen, rescinded, or redirected for political reasons,” he said in a statement.

“The next surface transportation bill must include protections for future infrastructure grants, and restore grants awarded to communities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that have suffered interference at the hands of the Trump administration.”