WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), now under the leadership of Secretary Sean Duffy, made sweeping moves last week to end what it referred to as “woke policies” and slashed several directives relating to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
Duffy, a former Wisconsin House representative and television personality, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in to lead USDOT mere days before an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet near Reagan Washington National Airport.
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The memos effectively slashed most of former President Biden’s and then-USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s orders and respective policies regarding environmental justice, climate change and equity in the department.
In another undated memo, the department said it would prioritize DOT support for projects where recipients prohibit the imposing of mask or vaccine mandates and those cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
Leading the new department’s efforts are similar moves made by the Trump Administration to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the federal level.
In one of the new memos, Duffy’s USDOT called for eliminating policies referencing “climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, racial equity, gender identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, environmental justice and the Justice40 initiative.”
The latter was created under an Executive Order by former President Joe Biden and set a goal that 40% of federal investments around climate measures “flow to disadvantaged communities,” according to an archived page from The White House.
USDOT’s second memo targets an attempt to lower costs through “smart policies, not political ideologies.”
One of the memo’s policies said DOT-supported or assisted programs and activities would not “be used to further local political objectives of for projects and goals that are purely local in nature and unrelated to a proper Federal interest.”
It is not immediately clear what the department means by
A third order was a submission to rescind a rule requiring state DOTs to measure and establish declining targets for carbon dioxide emissions on federal highways.
USDOT said the move reflects the Trump administration’s “commitment to unleashing American energy.”
In 2022, the transportation sector was the leading emitter of GHG emissions in the U.S., according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.
Last March, the EPA set new emission standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and other large vehicles.
The steps could help curb excess plantet-warming GHG emissions from the sector, the agency said in a report by The Associated Press.
KSAT reached out to the Texas Department of Transportation for comment on the news USDOT directives and how it measured GHG emissions.
Adam Hammons, TxDOT’s media relations director, said that current projects would not be affected, though he did not describe how the agency measures emissions.
As for guidance going forward, “TxDOT will continue to work with federal partners and abide by federal law,” Hammons said.
In a November 2024 technical report discussing GHGs and climate change, TxDOT said a reduction in single-occupant vehicle trips and other “operational efficiencies” have the “added benefit of reducing GHG emissions.”
However, TxDOT said its transportation efforts “are not primarily focused on GHG reductions,” though a strategic and budgetary goal is described in the report. Those two goals would:
- Support and promote public transportation
- Ensure the efficiency of the state’s transportation system to ensure the movement of people and goods.
While discussing active transportation methods, the report describes TxDOT’s efforts in developing a statewide active transportation plan, establishing a unified vision for respective policies through 2050.
Hammons did not directly address the November report in KSAT’s inquiry.
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.
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