Key Trump agency facing ‘unprecedented backlog’ inherited from Biden admin

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is working through a backlog of roughly 3,200 grant awards that did not have signed agreements to go with them, which Secretary Sean Duffy said was inherited from when former Secretary Pete Buttigieg oversaw the department.

“Since coming into office, my team has discovered an unprecedented backlog of grants leftover from the previous administration,” Duffy revealed a couple of weeks ago in a statement.

Most recently, one of these backlogged grants was the Washington Bridge in Rhode Island, which has been closed since 2023 on its westbound side until proper repairs are made, according to the Rhode Island state government.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, left, and President Donald Trump shake hands during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This backlog, along with ridiculous DEI and Green New Deal requirements, prevented real infrastructure from being built and funded. Under the Trump Administration, we’ve ripped out this red tape and are getting back to what matters,” Duffy said. “As part of our work to deliver real results, we are pleased to announce $221 million in grants for Rhode Island’s Washington Bridge — a critical link that carries thousands of vehicles a day.”

A DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital on background that the backlog totals $43 billion and that 1,000 grant winners were selected by the Biden administration after Trump won but before then-President Joe Biden left office, which made up for $9 billion of the total needing to be made official. 

However, the department said that “nothing was done to actually get these grant agreements signed and sent to projects.”

The DOT further noted that they are “quickly reviewing” the grants and looking at “executive grant agreements” when it comes to major infrastructure projects like roads and bridges.

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Then-Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

When it comes to the grant awards for roads and bridges, Duffy noted in an April 10 Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump that “most of them are good” but said that while the Biden administration announced the grants, many of those agreements did not end up getting signed and dealt with.

Duffy also reiterated that the projects also had “green and social justice requirements.”

“Take it out,” Trump said.

“We’re pulling all that out and putting the money toward the infrastructure and not the social movement from the last administration,” the secretary responded.

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Construction crews work on the eastbound lanes of the Washington Bridge in Providence, Rhode Island, on Aug. 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Stew Milne, file)

“Good steel, as opposed to green paper mache,” the president quipped to laughs in the room.

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The Trump administration has been adamant overall about scrutinizing federal funds that were doled out through grants, especially if they were believed to have ideological strings attached. Shortly after Duffy’s confirmation, he scrapped the DOT Equity Council and other “environmental justice” related measures.

The DOT has also notably placed the California high-speed rail project under federal investigation for its funds, as the cost of the project continues to rise, as critics of the project say little results have emerged so far.