Trump is undermining Biden infrastructure laws, and it will cost Minnesotans bigly

Yahoo

25-03-2025

Construction is underway on the Robert Street Bridge on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Saint Paul, Minn. Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Minnesota Reformer.
The Trump administration's efforts to remake transportation and infrastructure policy will hurt all Minnesotans regardless of geography or political affiliation.
Despite a court order pausing these efforts, this will certainly not be the last attempt to freeze, cut or revoke funding as President Donald Trump's broadly worded executive actions still threaten Biden-era policies and undermine our state's transportation progress.
Trump would jeopardize transportation and infrastructure funding under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, undercutting hard-won efforts to make Minnesota's transportation system sustainable, affordable, safe and accessible.
On January 20th, Trump signed executive orders including one aimed at 'Unleashing American Energy,' which due to its unspecific wording targeting programs across federal agencies, effectively paused all federal funding from the IIJA and the IRA. Despite an Office of Budget Management memo and multiple court orders challenging these actions' legality, the administration continues withholding funding for transportation infrastructure and environmental efforts.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's January 29th 'Woke Rescission' memo ordered DOT agencies to identify all policies, funding agreements and programs conflicting with Trump's executive orders by Feb. 18. The administration is now moving to terminate these initiatives, with various White House memos confirming plans to reshape thousands of projects nationwide, claiming current spending doesn't serve American interests.
The broad nature of these legally dubious directives threatens all federal transportation and infrastructure funding for Minnesota.
Minnesota has over $1.4 billion in remaining disbursements from the IIJA, largely supporting transportation and other infrastructure projects. Because most federal dollars have to be matched by non-federal — i.e., state or local funding — an additional $1.64 billion of Minnesota's money has been dedicated to support these projects through matches. This means without these federal funds, we'd have to make up the difference or see projects get delayed or canceled.
Based on data compiled by Transportation for America, the DOT-specific 'Woke Rescission' memo directly threatens between $490 million and $630 million to projects across the state. Two scenarios could play out: Cuts targeting only climate and equity-focused discretionary funds and grants, or, those cuts, plus cuts to additional projects supported by formula funds.
No one knows how this will play out, least of all the administration.
In a conservative scenario, the Trump administration would move to cut funding from grant-based projects and discretionary funds in accordance with the DOT's January 29th memo, stopping funding for projects that advance equity, climate change mitigation and other statewide priorities.
Federal funding cuts total $490 million, impacting both major population centers ($15 million in Hennepin County, $3.5 million in Dakota County, $75 million in Congressional District 4) and smaller communities ($1.4 million in Koochiching County, $1.25 million in Cook County, $315,000 in St. Louis County).
Under this scenario, transportation policy advocates worry that state DOTs, including MnDOT, won't replace federal funding for affected projects that advance climate and equity priorities, threatening progress to make these improvements come to life. MnDOT should develop a plan to maintain these critical investments in safety, mobility, community health and climate despite these federal funding losses.
Given the wording of the executive order and the February 18th memo — broadly seeking to dismantle programs that included mention of equity and climate change — all funding from the IIJA could be at risk, in addition to the project-based funding in the previous scenario. This is largely driven by the administration's opposition to the Justice40 initiative, a key component of almost every program the Biden Administration funded through the IIJA.
This scenario would include program cuts at the DOT and agencies within it, including the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Maritime Administration and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.
Under this scenario, Minnesota loses $630 million in infrastructure funding, with significant impacts to Hennepin County ($20 million), Ramsey County ($12 million), Lyon County ($3.7 million), and Wright County ($1.1 million).
Given the February 18th memo and what we were hearing from inside DOT, something closer to this worst-case scenario seems more aligned with the administration's desires.
Under this scenario, Greater Minnesota counties have as much to lose on a per capita basis as urban counties. While some Minnesota Republican legislators asked their federal counterparts to protect Medicaid, they have not worked to guard against transportation cuts. In fact, they are actively working at the state level this legislative session to undo recent policy wins that will save Minnesotans money and time and reduce our transportation system's environmental impacts.
There is some nuance to these scenarios, and MnDOT could be more likely to step in to defend this formula funding for roads and bridges. While losing transportation funding for climate and equity initiatives harms our communities, some highway expansion funds might be better left unused given their negative environmental impacts and long-term tax burdens for our state.
Nonprofit funding is also at risk in the transportation, climate and energy sectors. As one of the administrators of a large federal grant at Our Streets seeking to remove Olson Memorial Highway and to restore a walkable main street and revitalize adjacent communities, I know firsthand the confusion these orders are having on critical projects that put federal dollars at work to make Minnesotan's lives better.
Trump's strategy creates deliberate uncertainty across multiple levels of government — from state budgets to federal agencies. They're sowing confusion and chaos as a political weapon.
Despite this uncertainty, understanding the potential risks of pausing this funding is critical. Whether you live in a small Greater Minnesota community or in the heart of the Twin Cities, transportation funding cuts harm the movement of people and goods — statewide.
This is particularly challenging as our state's budget forecast comes in gloomier than previously projected, with federal funding and policy shifts adding to the uncertainty.
The budget hacksawing is just the start. The administration is attacking transportation research, redirecting funding to areas with high birth and marriage rates, and threatening the implementation of foundational policies like the National Environmental Protection Act, known as NEPA. These sorties suggest that other dramatic shifts in transportation policy and finance are possible or even likely, especially with a large federal transportation reauthorization bill on the horizon next year.
With or without all of our allotted federal funding, Minnesota can — and should — put transportation dollars to work to solve Minnesotan's most pressing issues. A significant portion of our transportation dollars come from our state — roughly $2.7 billion compared to $1.3 billion in federal contributions annually — meaning strong state and local policy can create a transportation system that works for all Minnesota communities.
On the ground, this means strategically directing state dollars toward affordability, accessibility and safety across all transportation modes and prioritizing projects that reconnect communities, mitigate climate and health impacts and advance equity goals.
During this uncertainty, elected officials must understand these potential impacts and the costs of not advancing transportation policies that put people first. And we can ask our members in Congress, Minnesota legislators, Gov. Tim Walz, MnDOT staff and other officials about their plans to address federal funding gaps and to push for forward-thinking transportation policies.
We can all ensure these officials are aware that these cuts are illegal, will cause chaos and confusion, and pose a risk to all Minnesota communities, and our economy.
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