Dive Brief:
- In an April 24 letter, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned DOT funding recipients against engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion practices, which he said violate federal law. Duffy also told grantees that they must cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officials or face “enforcement actions.”
- Grantees who violate those policies could lose their transportation funding, Duffy said. “It is the policy of the Department to award and to continue to provide Federal financial assistance only to those recipients who comply with their legal obligations,” per the letter.
- The DOT may audit grantees and take back funding used for unpermitted activities, according to the letter. Duffy urged transportation agencies to contact a DOT representative proactively to ensure they are in compliance.
Dive Insight:
Duffy’s new letter puts DOT funding recipients on notice, citing instances where grantees did not cooperate with ICE and other immigration enforcement investigations or issued driver’s licenses to people in the U.S. illegally, and warns that such actions “may give rise to civil and criminal liability.” He also told grantees to ensure that they are hiring subcontractors and other businesses that are permitted to work in the U.S. and that exclusively employ legally permitted workers.
Since assuming office, Duffy has authorized a series of actions to advance Trump’s directive to “rescind woke policies” and slash regulations, while vowing to give grant preference to regions with higher-than-average birth rates. Last month, the DOT rolled back a Biden-era policy that included environmental and social considerations for projects it funds.
In an April 2 hearing, Duffy defended the Trump administration’s freeze on already-approved projects so agencies can review them for mentions of climate change, environmental justice or equity. He did not say whether grant awards that are not yet finalized could be rescinded, but promised to enact the will of Congress when it comes to funding infrastructure: “I’m not going to hold up any projects.”
Duffy’s letter also said funding recipients must not engage in “discriminatory actions” while administering contracts, hiring or in other policies and procedures, and to make personnel decisions based on merit. Grantees are also prohibited from allocating award money “based on suspect classifications.”
“Whether or not described in neutral terms, any policy, program, or activity that is premised on a prohibited classification, including discriminatory policies or practices designed to achieve so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’ or ‘DEI’ goals, presumptively violates Federal law,” according to the letter.
In an interview Thursday on Fox Business, Duffy reiterated that Democrat-led states that don’t comply with the Trump administration’s interpretation of federal law will see their transportation funding cut, AOL reported.
“Hopefully, this will incentivize those states to get in line with commonsense American principles and policies, which the president has laid out. If they do, they don’t have a problem,” Duffy said in the Fox interview. “But if they don’t comply, we’re not going to approve their grants and the flow of billions of dollars into their states.”
