Sean Duffy, recently confirmed as President Trump's transportation secretary, issued a controversial memo prioritizing transportation funding for communities with higher marriage and birth rates. Critics, including Democratic senators, argue that this directive is troubling and discriminatory. The memo also restricts funding recipients from enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates while pushing for immigration enforcement. As a sizeable portion of the funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law remains unallocated, these changes seem tailored to benefit predominantly Republican states with higher fertility rates, raising concerns over the equitable distribution of federal funds.
"Distributing transportation funding based marriage and birth rates is bizarre and a little creepy," said Kevin DeGood, senior director of infrastructure and housing policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the directive last week 'deeply frightening,' and Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray called it 'disturbingly dystopian.'
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