President Trump launched his historic second term with an administrative shock and awe to save the country from a decades-long decline. One-hundred days later the federal government is moving at the speed of Trump.
The previous administration was distracted by an obsession with diversity and social justice initiatives that diverted the Department of Transportation from its core mission. As President Trump’s transportation secretary, we’re seizing this generational opportunity to refocus the department on safety, innovation, and building big, beautiful things again.
Trump has always been clear: The expansion of American infrastructure is at the heart of what will make America great again. We’re building the right way, right now, to usher in the golden age of transportation.
First comes safety — the fatal January collision between an Army chopper and an American Airlines flight was a tragic reminder why it must always be our top priority. In response, we immediately shut down helicopter traffic in the airspace of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and launched a nationwide review of Air Traffic Control workforce, policies, and procedures.
Our department also abolished the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the FAA and have begun integrating artificial intelligence into airport monitoring systems. We have supercharged the air traffic controller pipeline to fast-track the best and brightest. Our mission is to deliver a brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system to replace the World War II-era technology managing 21st century air travel. It’s time we propel our aviation system out of the stone age and into the golden age, where drones and supersonic travel are on the cusp of revolutionizing the airspace industry.
We are also extending our safety initiatives from the runways to the railways and the roadways. We reinstated the English proficiency rule for drivers to operate large commercial vehicles, and we have cracked down on decrepit transit systems. If cities fail to deliver safe, clean, and efficient commuter networks, then they should prepare to lose federal funding.
The Biden administration claimed it wanted to “build back better,” but all they built was new layers of bureaucracy. The Biden-Buttigieg backlog of roughly 3,200 grants is unprecedented in our department’s history. Some of these projects dated back to 2022 but were tied up by new leftist social engineering requirements. Plans for roads and bridges had to comply with DEI and climate mandates where “equity” and “environmental justice” took priority over building anything.
In contrast, under Trump’s leadership, we’re building in America again — all while saving the taxpayers time and money. We repealed the Biden-era memos tying up construction with leftist requirements and are pushing full-steam ahead to get the appropriate projects shovel ready. One such rule included a mandate to estimate the social cost of carbon in every analysis. Such radical climate rules stalled progress, wasted resources, and prevented construction on projects demanded by both Republicans and Democrats.
Within 100 days, our administration removed hurdles to build a $150 million border station in California just by stripping requirements to equip the site with electric car ports. In North Carolina, our department cleared legal barriers for the state to utilize nearby resources in the reconstruction of I-40, a critical Appalachian artery washed away by Hurricane Helene. No communities will be ignored by Trump’s determination to build bigger, better infrastructure.
Safety and efficiency are not mutually exclusive, and we need a government that’s lean, futuristic, and bold enough to build big without the baggage of an overbearing bureaucracy and outdated technology. Our cost-cutting efforts have already saved taxpayers $9.5 billion by breaking up boondoggle projects and cancelling wasteful contracts.
Those savings include $6 billion clawed back for an east Texas bullet train that was going nowhere fast. We are also investigating how California spent roughly $4 billion from Biden, only to get no results. Cost estimates for California’s high-speed rail network now exceed three times the initial price tag for a project that took 10 years to lay a single track.
Our department saved taxpayers $120 million by removing New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority from leading the Penn Station Reconstruction project, since the MTA has failed to manage anything properly. We will also take action over New York’s elite cordon pricing to force constituents to use MTA services by charging more to use roads they already paid for.
The Trump Transportation Department is paving a new era of government efficiency. My first rulemaking decision was to repeal illegal regulations by the previous regime requiring state transportation departments to establish targets for lower greenhouse gas emissions. Our department has initiated a complete review of such regulations with a specific task force to designed to carry out the president’s orders for aggressive deregulation.
The president recently issued an historic executive order for the U.S. to remain competitive with the Chinese on the high seas. Our department, primarily through the Maritime Administration, has been proud to take the lead on this initiative, countering Beijing’s booming ocean industry with ships made in America. Our agency has already begun to finalize the first stages of implementing the president’s agenda with long-overdue investments in our ports, shipyards, and maritime training programs. That includes renovating the dilapidated campus of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. Mold, tar, and water damage contaminating student dorms serve as a disturbing reflection of America’s neglected maritime industry.
Leveraging America’s full energy potential is a centerpiece of the president’s golden age agenda. And since January, we have issued three major decisions to approve deep-water ports across the Gulf of America. These oil and gas projects are key to harnessing our resources to maintain global dominance and keep energy costs down for the American people.
While Trump is dedicated to the rejuvenation of our existing infrastructure, this administration is equally committed to building for the future. We’re reimagining transportation in the 21st century to feature new technology such as drones, autonomous vehicles, and supersonic air travel. We have unveiled a new autonomous vehicle framework to support American innovators, supported drone developers experimenting with new technology, and given the aerospace industry the space it needs to engineer supersonic travel.
This is all just the beginning. America has always led on the frontier of unlocking what’s possible with new technology. We will continue that role as the global innovator for years to come thanks to the Trump-era renaissance ushering in the golden age of transportation.
Sean Duffy is the 20th U.S. secretary of transportation.