The Transportation Secretary said the department will continue dispersing funds from Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for major road, airport, bridge, and rail projects “until the closing bell.”
By Alan Ohnsman, Forbes Staff
Inhis remaining months as transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg has a very clear focus: push as many federal funds designated for infrastructure upgrades out the door as possible.
“In the last month or so, we’ve moved billions of dollars and funded hundreds of projects, and that will continue until the closing bell,” Buttigieg told Forbes. “We have several large, high-profile grant programs that we’re working on to be able to announce the winning projects in the coming weeks, and I’m excited about that,” he said without elaborating.
Biden’s $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in 2021 has already distributed about $570 billion for tens of thousands of projects in all 50 states and U.S. territories, including $3.4 billion that was just awarded for upgrades of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor passenger rail line, port improvements on both coasts and terminals in Great Lake states and for programs in Arizona, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin to transition to cleaner steel and concrete for roads and bridges. Funds for other projects, such as California’s request for an additional $221 million for its costly $130 billion high-speed rail project that got $3.1 billion last year, and money to fix infrastructure damaged by recent hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida may also be disbursed before Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
“When it comes to the projects, I think about 14,000 of them are complete. There’s 66,000 getting support, and many of them will be the work of many years,” Buttigieg said. “So we’ll be looking forward as well as back at the results of the work that we did. What we know is we’ve launched a true infrastructure decade.”
Though Trump built his business reputation as a real estate developer, he failed to push through an infrastructure program in his first term, despite frequent references to an “infrastructure week” that never materialized. Biden made it a top priority and it was among the first major pieces of legislation he signed into law. Though federal spending that helps people travel more easily and goods flow faster is widely popular, the benefits can take years to be felt. As a result, voters didn’t appear to factor it in the latest election.
“One of the things we found, proven by the fact that many members of Congress who voted no on the funding turned around and claimed credit for projects once they were announced, is that everybody loves these projects across the aisle and across the country.”
Trump hasn’t yet specified what specific elements of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law could change under his administration. Any revisions would need new legislation from Congress, which isn’t likely to happen soon. But Buttigieg’s urgency to disperse as many funds as possible before leaving in January may stem from concern that his successor could simply stop issuing grants, particularly to projects that Biden favors and Trump doesn’t, including high-speed rail and climate change-related upgrades.
But he’s optimistic that the many projects his agency funded will be enduringly popular.
“One of the things we found, proven by the fact that many members of Congress who voted no on the funding turned around and claimed credit for projects once they were announced, is that everybody loves these projects across the aisle and across the country,” Buttigieg said.
High-Speed Rail
During his time at Transportation, high-speed rail also got a significant jumpstart, thanks to billions of dollars for projects including California’s bullet train, faster trains for Amtrak’s Acela line from Boston to Washington, D.C., and $3 billion for Brightline West, a private high-speed rail line. Once completed in 2028, Brightline West, which was founded by billionaire Wes Edens, will run trains between Las Vegas and suburban Los Angeles at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.
“There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of momentum, a lot of funding and a lot of work underway when it comes to bringing high-speed rail to America,” Buttigieg said. “My kids will not know a time when America lacked high-speed rail if these projects hit their marks.”
While Brightline is raising about $9 billion more from investors to complete funding for its bullet train, California needs far more to eventually connect San Francisco to Los Angeles. Currently, it’s $4.7 billion short of what’s needed to complete a 171-mile segment from Merced to Bakersfield in the state’s Central Valley. Buttigieg didn’t speculate on how the project will fare under Trump, who previously attempted to claw back funds California received from the Obama administration.
“When we selected the pieces that we did for grants, we did so knowing that there are other things that have to happen in the future and nothing is guaranteed other than what we’ve officially signed,” he said.
Buttigieg didn’t comment on Trump’s selection of Sean Duffy, the Fox News personality and former representative from Wisconsin, to lead Transportation next year. Though he doesn’t have a transportation background, Trump said in announcing the nomination that Duffy would work to “maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”
Musk and Autonomous Vehicles
Buttigieg also declined to comment on the role Elon Musk is playing with the Trump transition team or the Transportation Department agencies’ multiple ongoing reviews of Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
Federal rules for autonomous vehicles – which Musk is fixated on with his plans for a robotaxi business – could become more favorable to the billionaire in the new Trump administration. Trump’s team has indicated they may revise Transportation regulations related to allowing large numbers of self-driving vehicles that don’t have steering wheels and foot pedals on public roads, according to Bloomberg. Companies hoping to begin operating electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) copters are also hoping Trump follows through with a campaign promise to support the technology.
“I can’t speculate on what the next administration will do,” Buttigieg said. “What I will say is that everyone here, political appointees and career professionals alike, understands that we have life and death responsibility to faithfully and fairly implement safety regulations and every other policy that we’re in charge of overseeing as it applies to different actors, including private companies. We call balls and strikes. We do it without fear or favor, and that’s a responsibility that people in this building have no matter who’s in charge politically.”
At just 42, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a military veteran who now lives in Michigan, is widely expected to remain a major figure in Democratic politics for many years. So what are his plans after he steps down in January?
“Soon as we figure it out I’ll tell you!”
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