Transportation Secretary Faces Questions on Grant Delays, Amtrak

By Sean Jeans-Gail | VP of Gov’t Affairs and Policy

--

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy faced tough questions from senators looking for answers about the pace of processing grants approved under the Biden Administration, the need to overhaul the nation’s Air Traffic Control system in the wake of a series of serious incidents, and the need for more clarity about the Trump Administration’s budget request during today's hearing by Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

"Skinny" Budget Raises Questions

The hearing, chaired by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), was convened to review the President's fiscal year 2026 budget request for the Department of Transportation. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), referencing the May 2nd release of the White House’s “skinny” budget, sought a commitment to continued support of Amtrak operations.

“I do hope we will get your actual full budget soon and have a chance to review that with you,” said Senator Coons. “And when we do get it, I hope we will see sustained investment in Amtrak.”

Coons pointed to recent positive milestones for the railroad, including last year’s record ridership and revenue. He also highlighted the Northeast Corridor’s (NEC) strong revenue performance, while warning that any cuts to NEC service—or, referencing comments made earlier this by Elon Musk, attempts to privatize the railroad—would really harm the “heartland states and rural parts of Amtrak's national network" through destabilization of the railroad’s finances.

Secretary Duffy responded that he was committed to providing great rail service along the NEC and is open to the idea of competition. However, he emphasized that the question of how Amtrak operates is a question for Congress to decide.

“I take Amtrak as well, I ride the Northeast Corridor… I do think we could be better,” said Secretary Duffy. “…I’m committed to the idea that we want to be able to move people along the Northeast Corridor, we don’t have enough room for people to all take cars, so let’s figure out a better way to do it.”

Frustration Over Delay in Getting Transportation Dollars to States

Later in the hearing, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) expressed impatience with delays in grant processing, saying state transportation departments need clearer guidance about when to expect funding decisions. He pressed Duffy on the status of the roughly 3,200 transportation grants currently under departmental review, expressing frustration with what he called a "black box" of information about their timeline for approval.

"There are a bunch of things that are plainly non-controversial, like evacuation routes and hillside stabilization," Schatz said. He pushed for specific timelines, asking whether the department could process "300 a week" or if states should expect completion by June.

“It’s a new administration, you are within your rights to modify grant criteria certainly before the money is obligated, I understand all that,” said Senator Schatz. “The problem is we are about four months into this and there are a bunch of things that are plainly not ‘climate’, like evacuation routes, hillside stabilization. And so my basic question is: I know you care about metrics, I know your team is trying to metabolize all of this. What’s the throughput capacity of the Department to get these 3,200 grants reviewed and obligated and out? Is it 300 a week? Do you think you’re going to be done by June? What’s the timeframe? Because it’s a little bit of a black box. This hearing is useful because it gives us some reassurance that they’re not actually stopped. But I think it’s fair for our state departments of transportation to know it’s going to be June before it’s done? It’s going to be next week? It could be later this year? Can you give us a sense of timing?”

The Secretary pushed back against the idea that the grants were “frozen,” characterizing it as a departmental review of all unobligated grants. However, he acknowledged that the current pace of review was insufficient.

“I appreciate the question, I think that’s a really good question,” responded Sec. Duffy. “I’ve told you we’ve done over 400. At this pace—which I’m proud of the pace that we have [achieved] thus far—it is not fast enough…. It would take us multiple years at this pace to get it done. So that is unacceptable, and I have countless meetings every week about how we can speed up the process to get more money out the door, more grant agreement done. So, I take your point. I am proud of the work we’ve done so far, but the mission is to pick it up dramatically.”

Sen. Schatz closed by urging the Secretary not only to speed delivery but work with members of Congress to help them better understand the timeline.