Judge rejects ‘Duffy Directive’ tying DOT grants to immigration cooperation
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
New DOT Memo Directs Funds To Communities With Higher ‘Marriage And Birth Rates’
The Department of Transportation has issued a memo ordering funding projects for communities with higher marriage and birth rates. The directive applies to all Transportation Department-supported grants, loans and contracts, including existing agreements. It’s not clear who came up with the language for this directive, but it certainly supports the ideas being pushed by Vice President JD Vance and by Elon Musk. “I want more babies in the United States of America,” Vance said last week at a National March for Life rally. The memo was signed hours before a military helicopter crashed into a passenger plane in Washington, D.C., killing everyone on both aircraft.“The American people deserve an efficient, safe and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies,’” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said of the memo, which was signed just before the crash of the military helicopter and a passenger jet in the nation’s capital. The Transportation Department did not respond to a request for comment on the memo.
WASHINGTON ― The federal Department of Transportation has issued a memo ordering programs supported by the agency to prioritize funding projects for communities with “marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.”
The unusual four-page memo also directs thousands of employees to give special priority to projects and activities that improve transportation for “families with young children.” The directive applies to all Transportation Department-supported grants, loans and contracts, including existing agreements.
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“I’ve never seen a memo like this before,” said one congressional aide who works on transportation policy and requested anonymity to speak freely.
“Considering fertility rates when prioritizing federal grants? We obviously have no idea what the full impact of that will be,” said this aide. “It’s absolutely creepy. It’s a little ‘Chinese government.’ [The Trump administration] would hate that comparison, but I don’t know where else I’ve seen a policy of ‘we need to incentivize baby-making.’”
A Transportation Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Here’s a copy of the memo:
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While it’s not clear who came up with the language for this directive, it certainly supports the ideas being pushed by Vice President JD Vance and by Elon Musk, both of whom talk obsessively about wanting women to make more babies.
“I want more babies in the United States of America,” Vance said last week at a National March for Life rally. “I want more happy children in our country and I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”
Musk, the richest man in the world and father of 12 who has managed to insert himself into President Donald Trump’s inner circle, has spent years making dire, if inaccurate, claims about humanity collapsing if women don’t get to more baby-making. He’s said people should relax about how much it would cost to raise a family and just start having more kids: “It’ll work out.”
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Newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy buried his agency’s oddly specific requirement by describing the memo as focused on economic growth ― rather than population growth ― and echoed Trump’s criticisms of programs to improve diversity, equity and inclusion.
“The American people deserve an efficient, safe and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies,” Duffy said of the memo, which was signed hours before a military helicopter crashed into a passenger plane in Washington, D.C., killing everyone on both aircraft and sending Duffy and other transportation officials scrambling.
States with both marriage and birth rates higher than the national average include Utah and South Dakota, according to 2022 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In those predominantly white states, cultural or religious norms may encourage marriage and family-building.
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The congressional aide suggested people should be watching to see if language like this starts popping up in other government funding, whether it’s tucked into directives at agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services or inserted into government funding bills. There are plenty of other ways directives like this could have a more immediate effect on people’s lives than at the Department of Transportation, said the aide.
“On some level, the idea that ‘I think I’m going to have a baby because I’m going to get a better road outside’ doesn’t make sense to me,” said the aide.
Totally normal stuff when the U.S. government says you may be able to get better roads in your town if you pop out a few more kids. Getty/AP
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In addition to its directives related to marriage and babies, the Transportation Department’s memo blocks recipients of federal money from implementing “mask mandates,” a reference to requirements that transit agencies followed to limit the spread of infection during the height of COVID-19.
The memo also requires recipients to comply with federal immigration enforcement in order to receive funding — the latest effort by the administration to target undocumented immigrants, conduct mass arrests and deportations, and deny federal transportation funds to so-called sanctuary cities.
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A second congressional aide who works on transportation policy, who also requested anonymity to avoid getting into trouble at work, predicted politically driven policies like Duffy’s will backfire on the Trump administration because they will end up hurting Republicans, too.
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Transportation Sec. Duffy Tells Sanctuary Cities Feds Are Not Paying for Anti-ICE Riot Damage
The city of Los Angeles has incurred nearly $20 million in police costs and other expenses in response to protests that were ginned up by its inept mayor, Karen Bass. Protesters have held near-daily demonstrations in downtown L.A. since immigration agents raided a fast-fashion warehouse on June 6. Some protests have become violent and police have deployed tear gas canisters and shot less-lethal munitions. The LAPD said Monday that 575 people have been arrested since the demonstrations started. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently announced that the Department of Transportation will not provide federal funds to repair damage from riots in cities that, according to him, failed to prevent destruction or did not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Duffy’s comments come after President Donald Trump issued a directive for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target Democratic-run cities to deport unauthorized immigrants. The Secretary of Transportation was quite clear about tying federal DOT funds to ICE and immigration cooperation even before overpass and bollard chunks began flying. He sent around an official notice to all DOT grant recipients about following the ‘letter of the law,’ which meant ALL laws, to remain eligible for federal funds.
Essentially, the movement is a clear effort on the part of Democrats to create the Hispanic version of 2020’s Summer of BLM.
Of course, these actions have several consequences that can be quite painful for local residents. For example, the city of Los Angeles has incurred nearly $20 million in police costs and other expenses in response to protests that were ginned up by its inept mayor, Karen Bass.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo said in a memo to the City Council that the city has incurred at least $19.7 million in costs through June 16. The Los Angeles Police Department has spent $16.9 million, including $11.7 million for overtime. Other costs include $780,601 to repair damage at City Hall, the LAPD’s headquarters on 1st Street, and other city buildings. Some estimates, excluding the police, run only through June 13 and the tally is expected to increase. Protesters have held near-daily demonstrations in downtown L.A. since immigration agents raided a fast-fashion warehouse on June 6. Some protests have become violent and police have deployed tear gas canisters and shot less-lethal munitions. The LAPD said Monday that 575 people have been arrested since the demonstrations started.
Tear gas canisters and rubber bullets aren’t cheap.
However, if Bass is thinking to ask Washington, D.C. for monies to fix the place up, she is going to get rejected as quickly as Sacramento denied her efforts to get monies for wildfire recovery.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) will not provide federal funds to repair damage from riots in cities that, according to him, failed to prevent destruction or did not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
“The @USDOT will NOT fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” Duffy wrote on X on Monday. “And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don’t expect a red cent from DOT, either. Follow the law, or forfeit the funding.” Duffy’s comments come after President Donald Trump issued a directive for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target Democratic-run cities to deport unauthorized immigrants. On Truth Social, Trump ordered ICE agents “to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.” “In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” he added.
The @USDOT will NOT fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don’t expect a red cent from DOT, either. Follow the law, or forfeit the funding. https://t.co/cCRi4ALT23 — Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) June 16, 2025
As Hot Air’s Beege Welborne notes, Duffy is taking to “no one is above the law” like a duck to water.
This latest salvo from Duffy is nothing new, though. It’s only reinforcing his original stand from back in April. The Secretary of Transportation was quite clear about tying federal DOT funds to ICE and immigration cooperation even before overpass and bollard chunks began flying. He sent around an official notice to all DOT grant recipients about following the ‘letter of the law,’ which meant ALL laws, in order to remain eligible for federal funds.
It is going to be fascinating to see Bass and her minions scramble to get the city presentable ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Maybe if China’s leader Xi Jiping comes to support his country’s athletes, Bass and California Gavin Newsom will find extra incentive to make the city civilized.
“How about just keep your fucking house clean.” Joe Rogan and Donald Trump slam Gavin Newsom for “cleaning up” San Francisco for Xi Jinping. pic.twitter.com/Vne8bu4KLO — Mythinformed (@MythinformedMKE) October 26, 2024
As Bass has recently been linked to Chinese Intel, she might actually be motivated to serve her city.
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Federal district judge rejects ‘Duffy Directive’ that ties DOT grants to immigration cooperation
A federal district judge rejected the attempt by Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy to withhold funding to states that seek to block President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. “Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes,” U.S. District Judge John McConnell wrote in
“Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes,” U.S. District Judge John McConnell wrote in the preliminary injunction.
McConnell, who was appointed to the position by former President Barack Obama, said the 20 states suing the Trump administration over this issue will likely succeed in blocking Duffy’s efforts to restrict federal funding.
Duffy made the announcement in April that states would lose funding for various infrastructure projects, like roads and bridges, if they support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and President Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.
That is when the Democratic state attorneys general filed the lawsuit, alleging that Duffy’s restrictions were beyond his authority.
McConnell is the same judge who said back in February that certain funds that Trump ordered withheld related to the Inflation Reduction Act and for agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must be restored.
Judge grills Trump DOJ on order tying transportation funding to immigration enforcement
A federal judge seemed likely to block the U.S. Department of Transportation’s move to yank billions in congressional funding for bridges, roads and airport projects. The suit brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenges an April directive from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The directive requires states to cooperate in federal immigration enforcement in order to receive federal grants already approved by Congress. The judge said he would make a decision whether to issue a preliminary injunction before Friday. The preliminary injunction would be tailored to the states that brought the suit and would not have a nationwide effect, the judge said. The states that bring the suit are California, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. It’s unclear if the judge will issue a ruling before Friday or if he will issue one after the judge’s decision is made. The ruling is expected.
Workers moving equipment and road signs on a highway. (Getty Images) A Rhode Island federal judge seemed likely Wednesday to block the U.S. Department of Transportation’s move to yank billions in congressional funding for bridges, roads and airport projects if Democrat-led states do not partake in federal immigration enforcement.
U.S. District Judge John James McConnell Jr. during a hearing pressed acting U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom on how the Transportation Department could have power over funding that was approved by Congress, saying federal agencies “only have appropriations power given by Congress.”
“That’s how the Constitution works,” he said. “Where does the secretary get the power and authority to impose immigration conditions on transportation funding?”
The suit brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenges an April directive from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a former House member from Wisconsin, that requires states to cooperate in federal immigration enforcement in order to receive federal grants already approved by Congress.
“Defendents seek to hold hostage tens of billions of dollars of critical transportation funding in order to force the plaintiff states to become mere arms of the federal government’s immigration enforcement policies,” Delbert Tran of the California Department of Justice, who argued on behalf of the states, said.
Arguing on behalf of the Trump administration, Bloom said that Duffy’s letter simply directs the states to follow federal immigration law.
McConnell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2011, said that while the states could interpret it that way, the Trump administration has gone after so-called sanctuary cities and targeted them for not taking the same aggressive immigration enforcement as the administration.
The judge said Bloom’s argument expressed a “very different” interpretation of the directive than how the administration has described it publicly. He also noted President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have “railed on … the issues that arise from sanctuary cities.”
Trump this week directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to target Chicago, Los Angeles and New York — three major Democrat-led cities that have policies to not aid in immigration enforcement.
McConnell said he would make a decision whether to issue a preliminary injunction before Friday. The preliminary injunction would be tailored to the states that brought the suit and would not have a nationwide effect.
The states that brought the suit are California, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Undermines Congress
Tran said the Department of Transportation’s directive is not only arbitrary and capricious, but undermines congressional authority because Congress appropriated more than $100 billion for transportation projects to the states.
Cutting off funding would have disastrous consequences, the states have argued.
“More cars, planes, and trains will crash, and more people will die as a result, if Defendants cut off federal funding to Plaintiff States,” according to the brief from the states.
Transportation security and immigration
Bloom defended Duffy’s letter, saying it listed actions that would impede federal law enforcement and justified withholding of funds because “such actions compromise the safety and security of the transportation systems supported by DOT financial assistance.”
McConnell said that didn’t answer his question about the secretary’s authority to withhold congressionally appropriated funding.
“It seems to me that the secretary is saying that a failure to comply with immigration conditions is relevant to the safety and security of the transportation system,” Bloom said.
McConnell seemed skeptical of that argument.
“Under that rationale, does the secretary of the Department of Transportation have the authority to impose a condition on federal highway funds that prohibit a state that has legalized abortion from seeking a federal grant?” he asked.
Bloom said that question was beyond her directive from the Department of Transportation to address in her arguments to the court.
“I understand your question,” she said. “All I think I can say is that here the secretary has, in his statement, set out a rationale for why this is relevant to DOT funding.”
Tran said that the “crux of this case is” that the Trump administration is trying “to enforce other laws that do not apply to these grants,” by requiring states to partake in immigration enforcement.
“It’s beyond their statutory authority,” he argued.
Federal judge halts Trump’s plan to cut funding for sanctuary states that refuse to cooperate
A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, blocking the Trump administration from denying federal transportation funds to states that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities. Twenty Democratic-led states brought a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, challenging a new Department of Transportation policy of withholding or terminating federal funding to any state or local government that does not comply with immigration-enforcement policies. The judge said the administration’s actions are “unconstitutional and/or unlawful” because it violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment on the ruling, which was issued on the same day the president signed an executive order that would deny federal funds to “so-called sanctuary jurisdictions” and other “rogue state actors”
A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, blocking the Trump administration from denying federal transportation funds to states that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement authorities.
Twenty Democratic-led states brought a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, challenging a new Department of Transportation (DOT) policy of withholding or terminating federal funding to any state or local government that does not comply with immigration-enforcement policies.
During Trump’s first day in office, he issued a sweeping executive order that would deny federal funds to “so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.”
U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. issued the preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s efforts on Thursday, saying it is “unconstitutional and/or unlawful” because it violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
ICE-AVERSE STATES WON’T GET ‘ONE RED CENT’ FROM FEDS TO REBUILD INFRASTRUCTURE, SECRETARY DUFFY WARNS
McConnell also said the Trump administration’s action is ultra vires – or done beyond one’s legal authority – and exceeds Congress’s powers under the Spending Clause.
Under the preliminary injunction, the Trump administration is “prohibited from implementing or enforcing the Immigration Enforcement Condition as set forth in the Duffy Directive,” McConnell wrote.
He also said the defendants are “prohibited from withholding or terminating federal funding based on the Immigration Enforcement Condition as set forth in the Duffy Directive absent specific statutory authorization.”
FEDERAL JUDGE PARTIALLY BLOCKS TRUMP’S EFFORT TO DENY FUNDING TO PRO-DEI PUBLIC SCHOOLS
“Defendants are prohibited from taking adverse action against any state entity or local jurisdiction, including barring it from receiving or making it ineligible for federal funding, based on the Immigration Enforcement Condition, absent specific statutory authorization,” the ruling continued. “The Court forbids and enjoins any attempt to implement the Immigration Enforcement Condition, and any actions by the Defendants to implement or enforce the Immigration Enforcement Condition.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on the matter.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, even this week, has warned “rogue state actors” who do not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal immigration enforcement that they may be on the hook to clean up their own mess.
FEDERAL JUDGE DECLARES TRUMP ADMIN BLOCKING FEDERAL MONEY FROM SANCTUARY CITIES UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Most recently, Duffy directed his comments toward California officials who have distanced themselves from immigration enforcement while riots and protests continue to break out in places like Los Angeles.
Duffy has suggested political leaders work better with the Trump administration.
“The USDOT will not fund rogue state actors who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” Duffy said Monday. “And to cities that stand by while rioters destroy transportation infrastructure — don’t expect a red cent from DOT, either.”
Duffy said in April that federal grants come with the obligation to adhere to federal law.
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“It shouldn’t be controversial – enforce our immigration rules, end anti-American DEI policies, and protect free speech. These values reflect the priorities of the American people, and I will take action to ensure compliance,” he said.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.