Skip to main content

USDoT goes 'back to basics' by rescinding Biden-era memos

Transport funding memos were part of 'radical social and environmental agenda'
By Adam Hill March 11, 2025 Read time: 1 min
USDoT is 'building critical infrastructure projects that move people and move commerce safely' © Brett Critchley | Dreamstime.com)

The US Department of Transportation has further signalled the Trump administration's desire to break with the past by rescinding transport funding memos issued during President Joe Biden's time in the White House.

USDoT now says that the two separate memorandums, both called 'Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America', "injected a social justice and environmental agenda into decisions for critical infrastructure projects" and were "in conflict with Congressional intent and the Administrative Procedure Act".

"These Biden-era memos displaced the long-standing authorities granted to states by law, added meritless and costly burdens related to greenhouse gas emissions and equity initiatives," USDoT's statement continues.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Transportation is getting back to basics — building critical infrastructure projects that move people and move commerce safely," says transportation secretary Sean P. Duffy. "The previous administration flouted Congress in an attempt to push a radical social and environmental agenda on the American people. This was an act of federal overreach. It stops now.”

The decision "affirms that these Biden-era policies have no basis in statute and have no role in DoT programmes going forward".  

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • USDOT announces additional funding for low and no-emission vehicles
    September 28, 2015
    The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced the availability of US$22.5 million through the latest round of the low or no emission vehicle deployment program (LoNo) that will help deploy the next generation of energy-efficient vehicles nationwide. The funds are intended to encourage adoption of green technologies in transit buses, such as hydrogen fuel cells and electric and hybrid engines. The program focuses on commercialising the cleanest and most energy-ef
  • ATA coalition asks congress to reject devolution of highway program
    March 18, 2015
    In a letter to Congress, the American Trucking Association (ATA) and a coalition of 37 other organisations has warned about the dangers of devolving the federal highway program and urged passage of a robust, long-term highway bill that secures the federal role in transportation. In the letter, ATA and its allies told Congress they strongly oppose devolution proposals such as the Transportation Empowerment Act (TEA), previously introduced and considered in the 113th Congress. They say TEA is an ill-conceive
  • US transportation secretary supports Infrastructure Week
    May 12, 2015
    In support of the third annual Infrastructure Week, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is participating in events in Washington and will then head out to meet with state and local leaders, business leaders and academics in Tennessee, California, and Iowa. “Our nation’s economy and the way we live both depend on having strong infrastructure,” Secretary Foxx said. “But the truth is that our current levels of investment are falling short of what is needed just to keep our existing system safe and in g
  • IBTTA: road user charge is the future
    March 16, 2022
    The US government’s cash injection for the nation’s bridges represents a step forward – but IBTTA’s Pat Jones suggests that states need to consider the benefits of road usage charging