Duffy Moves to Rescind Greenhouse Gas Mandate, Reset DOT Policies

What happened: On his first full day in office, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy Jan. 29 issued three directives to implement President Donald Trump’s policy priorities within his department. (Secretary Duffy took these actions prior to the tragic plane crash in Washington, D.C., Wednesday evening.)

Why it matters: The rationale for nearly all these directives represent stark (and in some cases explicit) changes in direction from the Biden administration.

• U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) now plans to rescind the previous administration’s 2023 rule requiring states to incorporate greenhouse gas (GHG) measurements in project planning. ARTBA had flagged this issue as a priority for Sec. Duffy’s transition team, noting 22 states had successfully challenged the mandate in federal district court. In an amicus brief initiated by ARTBA (and joined by AGC of America), the association argued Congress purposefully excluded such a requirement from federal law. Rescinding the rule will end the related litigation.
• The new U.S. DOT leadership also issued a memo detailing its principles for “grantmaking, lending, policymaking and rulemaking.” They plan to prioritize projects relating to a “proper Federal interest,” rather than “local political objectives.” Other preferred attributes will include strong co-funding brought by states and localities, limited duration of federal funding, user pay principles, compliance with Buy America and immigration enforcement, communities with higher marriage and birth rates, local opportunity zones and prohibition of mask and vaccine mandates.
• Finally, Sec. Duffy directed department officials to “identify and eliminate all Biden-era programs, policies, activities, rules, and orders that promote climate change activism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, racial equity, gender identity policies, environmental justice, and other partisan objectives.” As ARTBA has previously reported, this effort could affect U.S. DOT’s approach to legal challenges against and implementation of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program.

What’s next: The memo calls for modal administrations to review existing contracts and grant agreements and, “to the extent permitted by law” unilaterally amend them to comply with President Trump’s Jan. 20 Executive Order.  As Sec. Duffy builds out the U.S. DOT leadership team, ARTBA will share additional expected specific guidance on how the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other modal agencies will interpret the Jan. 29 memo and any other policy developments, including the new administration’s expected reset of discretionary grant programs. As of Thursday evening, ARTBA has confirmed FHWA is reimbursing states for non-electric vehicle charging station related road and bridge work completed.

ARTBA also thanks its members and chapters who contributed to our Transportation Makes America Work (TMAW) advocacy program, which enabled the association to take a successful leadership role in opposing the GHG mandate.