A federal infrastructure program used by the Biden administration to fund bike lanes and “advance equity” will go toward fixing America’s bridges, roads, and shipping ports, The Daily Wire has learned.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it would be awarding $1.73 billion in infrastructure grants through the Department of Transportation to improve roads and bridges. Under Biden, the department focused on fighting “climate change,” pushing DEI, and funding bike lanes.
“America is fortunate to have a Builder in the White House who knows America is only as great as our infrastructure,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told The Daily Wire. “That’s why this Department is investing in repairing critical roads and bridges that connect Americans to job opportunities, port infrastructure that bolsters our national security, and aviation and transit projects that move American families.”
The funding will be awarded through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program.
Around 77% of the total grant funding ($1.3 billion) will be allocated to roads and bridges along critical transportation arteries, and another 7% will go toward beefing up the nation’s maritime infrastructure, the Department of Transportation told The Daily Wire. In contrast to Biden, when around 20% of funding went toward pedestrian-bike lane projects, no funds will go toward bike lanes. Just 2% of the funding under Biden went toward maritime projects, according to the Department of Transportation.
“The impact of these dollars will be felt in communities nationwide for years to come,” Duffy added.
During the Biden presidency, the BUILD program was renamed Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE), but the Trump administration changed the name back to BUILD.
Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg focused on pushing DEI and climate-related projects through the program. In November 2021, Buttigieg declared the program would focus on “equity” and combating “climate change.”
In 2023, the Biden administration said it wanted grant applicants to “consider how their projects can address climate change, ensure racial equity, and remove barriers to opportunity.” That same year, Buttigieg reestablished an Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity with the purpose of helping the department “institutionalize equity into Agency programs, policies, regulations, and activities.”
A report last year from the New York Post revealed that more than $80 billion was designated to DEI-related projects under Buttigieg’s four years as transportation secretary.
Shortly after taking office, Duffy moved to implement the Trump administration’s policy of eliminating DEI from government programs and policies. He directed department officials to rescind any DEI or climate change-related policies.
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