Latest news with #U.S.TransportationDepartment
USA Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump administration agrees to end use of race, gender in highway, transit contracts
Trump administration agrees to end use of race, gender in highway, transit contracts The Trump administration agreed to end the U.S. Transportation Department's use of race or gender when awarding highway and transit project funding. Show Caption Hide Caption 100 days of Trump: 3 key changes impacting people across America 100 days after returning to power, Donald Trump is charging ahead with tariffs, an immigration crackdown and federal cuts, including dismantling DEI. The Transportation department said in a court filing that it agreed the "program's use of race- and sex-based presumptions is unconstitutional." The department previously defended the policy as seeking to remedy past discrimination but said it has reevaluated its position in light of factors including a 2023 Supreme Court's decision. The Trump administration said on Wednesday it has agreed to end the U.S. Transportation Department's consideration of race or gender when awarding billions of dollars in federal highway and transit project funding set aside for disadvantaged small businesses. A judge in September in Kentucky ruled that a federal program enacted in 1983 that treats businesses owned by racial minorities and women as presumptively disadvantaged and eligible for such funding violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantees. The Transportation department said in a court filing that it agreed the "program's use of race- and sex-based presumptions is unconstitutional." The department previously defended the policy as seeking to remedy past discrimination but said it has reevaluated its position in light of factors including the Supreme Court's decision in 2023 in an affirmative action case. U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove in Frankfort, Kentucky, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, said the federal government cannot classify people in ways that violate the principles of equal protection in the U.S. Constitution. More: DEI explained: What is DEI and why is it so divisive? What you need to know. He relied in part on a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that effectively prohibited affirmative action policies long used in college admissions to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on American campuses. More: Two men fought for jobs in a river-town mill. 50 years later, the nation is still divided. The program was reauthorized in 2021 through then Democratic President Joe Biden's signature Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which set aside more than $37 billion for that purpose.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US agrees to end use of race, gender in highway, transit contracts
By David Shepardson (Reuters) -The Trump administration said on Wednesday it has agreed to end the U.S. Transportation Department's consideration of race or gender when awarding billions of dollars in federal highway and transit project funding set aside for disadvantaged small businesses. A judge in September in Kentucky ruled that a federal program enacted in 1983 that treats businesses owned by racial minorities and women as presumptively disadvantaged and eligible for such funding violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantees. The Transportation department said in a court filing that it agreed the "program's use of race- and sex-based presumptions is unconstitutional." The department previously defended the policy as seeking to remedy past discrimination but said it has reevaluated its position in light of factors including the Supreme Court's decision in 2023 in an affirmative action case. U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove in Frankfort, Kentucky, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, said the federal government cannot classify people in ways that violate the principles of equal protection in the U.S. Constitution. He relied in part on a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that effectively prohibited affirmative action policies long used in college admissions to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on American campuses. The program was reauthorized in 2021 through then Democratic President Joe Biden's signature Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which set aside more than $37 billion for that purpose.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
US expected to declare Biden fuel economy rules exceeded legal authority
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to declare that fuel economy rules issued under then President Joe Biden exceeded the government's legal authority by including electric vehicles in setting the rules, automakers said on Monday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday submitted its interpretive rule, "Resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program" to the White House for review. He said in a statement the prior administration had "illegally used CAFE standards as a backdoor electric vehicle mandate – driving the price of cars up."
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
States sue Trump administration over $3 billion in blocked EV charging grants
States sue Trump administration over $3 billion in blocked EV charging grants Show Caption Hide Caption Chinese EV battery maker shows new tech US consumers can't buy At the Shanghai Auto Show, Chinese EV battery giant CATL revealed new technologies, but none are likely to reach US consumers anytime soon. Straight Arrow News California and 15 other states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, saying the federal government was illegally withholding billions of dollars awarded to states for building electric-vehicle charging stations. The U.S. Transportation Department in February suspended the EV charging program and rescinded approval of state plans pending a review. Senate Democrats said President Donald Trump was withholding more than $3 billion from the program, which was approved as part of former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. The lawsuit, joined by the District of Columbia, New York, New Jersey and Colorado among others, was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington State. In case you missed it: Car buyers beware: Big tax credit on EVs is in limbo The states said the administration's decision "will devastate the ability of states to build the charging infrastructure necessary for making EVs accessible to more consumers, combating climate change, reducing other harmful pollution, and supporting the states' green economies." A spokesperson for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not immediately comment. In February, a group representing automakers and electric vehicle charging companies called on the transportation department to restore funding quickly. Since his inauguration in January, Trump has moved to reverse Biden administration policies promoting a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and battling climate change. Trump has advocated for a return to coal-fired power plants and an increase in domestic oil exploration and production. As part of his stance, the president has taken aim at electric vehicles, halting distribution of government funds for vehicle charging stations from the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. Trump revoked a 2021 order by Biden that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. were electric by 2030. He called for an end to state efforts to adopt zero-emission vehicle rules and a halt in funding for high-speed rail in California. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
N.Y. governor says congestion pricing will remain despite federal deadline to end the program Sunday
New York City's $9 congestion toll on drivers in Manhattan's busiest areas will remain in effect, despite the federal government's Sunday deadline to scrap it. In a statement about the deadline, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, 'The program is working. Traffic is down, business is up and the cameras are staying on.' The U.S. Transportation Department said in a statement to NBC New York on Friday that it expected New York to comply with the Sunday deadline to 'terminate this program.' 'USDOT will continue to fight for working class Americans whose tax dollars have already funded and paid for these roads,' it said. But Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials told NBC New York it was unlikely anything would change Sunday, given that a federal judge has so far sided with New York that the toll is legal, and court filings suggest it will most likely take until the fall for the case to be fully resolved. In addition, both Hochul and the MTA have said that unless a court directs otherwise, the cameras, and therefore the tolls, will stay on. The plan has already faced a number of deadlines from the federal government, followed by just as many pushbacks. Congestion pricing, which went into effect on Jan. 5, has goals to lessen traffic in the overcrowded city and pump money into the ailing subway system. The plan charges most cars entering Manhattan's central business district — which stretches from 60th Street down to the southern tip of the Financial District — a peak fee of $9 from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends. The Trump administration sought to kill the program on Feb. 19, with President Donald Trump declaring himself 'king' in a social media post that celebrated the potential end of congestion pricing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a letter to Hochul that the federal government has jurisdiction over highways leading to Manhattan, making the newly imposed toll an unfair burden for drivers outside New York City. Hochul fought back, declaring: "The cameras are staying on." The next week, the Trump administration gave New York until March 21 to end congestion pricing. On March 20, Duffy pushed the deadline back 30 more days, according to The Associated Press. The Transportation Department said April 8 that it was not backing down on Sunday's deadline. It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will stop congestion pricing. This article was originally published on
