WASHINGTON, D.C. – Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Friday that the Department of Transportation will terminate $54 million in controversial university grants uncovered by the Trump administration—funding he says was rooted in “radical DEI and green agenda” priorities that stray far from the Department’s core mission.
The move comes as the administration continues its aggressive rollback of legacy Biden-era spending initiatives and ideological research projects.
Targeted Grants Pushed DEI, Environmental, and Gender-Based Studies
Seven universities received the now-terminated funding, including San Jose State University’s Mineta Consortium for Emerging, Efficient, and Safe Transportation, which was awarded $6 million for research examining racial and gender dynamics in transit systems.
According to a Department briefing, one grant examined “intermodal inequities,” specifically how infrastructure improvements for automobile travel allegedly benefited “higher income, often white drivers,” while harming public transit and “BIPOC people.” Another portion focused on using “crowdsourcing and collaborative planning” to analyze the transit safety concerns of women and gender non-conforming individuals.
Sec. Duffy Blasts the ‘Department of Woke’
“The American people have zero interest in millions of their tax dollars funding research on the intersection of gender non-conforming people and infrastructure inequality,” Duffy told The Daily Wire. “Or whether road improvement projects are racist.”
Calling the terminated grants “wasteful and divisive,” Duffy added, “It’s time to inject a dose of reality back into our higher education system. That starts with ending these ridiculous grants.”
He continued, “The previous administration turned the Department of Transportation into the Department of Woke. I’ve focused the Department on what matters—safety, making travel great again, and building big, beautiful infrastructure projects.”
Refocusing on Core Infrastructure Goals
Under President Trump’s revived America First infrastructure strategy, the Department is prioritizing tangible improvements to roads, bridges, railways, and airports while scrubbing the agency of politicized academic spending.
“This is about delivering for the American people—not indulging ivory tower social experiments that have nothing to do with getting people where they need to go,” a senior DOT official told The Daily Wire.
The move is expected to ignite further debate between the Trump administration and higher education institutions over the role of taxpayer-funded research and the government’s commitment to ideological neutrality in public funding.
