Trump’s transportation secretary changed the name on federal grants, but they still came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is no stranger to lavishing credit on President Donald Trump, which appears to be a job requirement for being a member of his Cabinet. But that doesn’t make the native of northern Wisconsin immune to criticism when he tries to give the administration praise for infrastructure investments that were actually set up by President Joe Biden.
“America is BUILDING!,” Duffy wrote on X last month. “There is now $1.5 BILLION going to infrastructure projects all around the USA. It’s the Golden Age of Transportation!”
But the “Golden Age of Transportation” is being funded in Wisconsin, and nationwide, through Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as was noted repeatedly under Duffy’s post.
“Trump did zero infrastructure and now is taking credit for Biden’s work. Stop spreading lies,” read one.
“That infrastructure funding from the Biden administration was almost cut off this summer out of political spite,” wrote another. “The uncertainty and delays threw a lot of mom and pop construction companies into chaos.”
Others rightly noted that what Duffy is touting as BUILD grants (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) are nothing more than a rebranding of RAISE grants (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) from the law signed by Biden.
The US Department of Transportation website lists the name change but noticeably omits a specific mention of the former president or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — only that the funding was “authorized” in November 2021, which is when Biden signed the bill.
RAISE grants have been awarded to at least two significant projects in Wisconsin.
The grants are designed for surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact.
As of 2023, Wisconsin was projected to receive about $5.4 billion over five years in federal funding for highways and bridges, at least $100 million to expand high-speed internet coverage to more Wisconsinites, $176 million to provide clean and safe drinking water, $80 million to replace the existing I-39/90/94 Wisconsin River Bridge in Columbia County, and additional funding for ports, waterways, airports, electric vehicle charging stations, and clean buses.
Since taking office one year ago, Trump has been working with congressional Republicans to enact sweeping cuts or freezes on many Biden-eraprojects, leading to ongoing court challenges by Wisconsin and other states.
