Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg failed to replace outdated air-traffic-control systems while in office — with his agency instead shelling out tens of billions of dollars on a DEI agenda, according to federal spending records and airline-industry insiders. What his department was really interested in was handing out hundreds of diversity, equity and inclusion grants totaling more than $80 billion over four years — at least half of the DOT’s entire budget for a typical fiscal year, records show.

Florida operates three separate rail systems: Tri‑Rail, Brightline, and FEC Freight. Tri‑Rail currently runs on the old CSX corridor to the west, while Brightline and FEC Freight share the Florida East Coast (FEC) main line. But now, Tri‑Rail is actively testing on the FEC tracks — with dozens of daily tests into downtown Miami Central on the same rails used by Brightline and freight since June 2023 . Moreover, under the Coastal Link plan, Tri‑Rail is slated to begin regular passenger service along this corridor — effectively merging all three rail services onto one aging track . Picture this: 110...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy struck a blow at radical LGBTQ activism as “Pride Month” ended. Duffy sent a letter to all 50 state governors, the D.C. mayor, and Puerto Rico’s governor, a letter which he also shared with The Daily Signal. Trump’s transportation secretary told the governors to work on removing distractions, including woke political symbols, from roads and intersections. In the letter, Duffy wrote, “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork. Today I am calling on governors in every state to ensure that roadways, intersections, and crosswalks are kept free of distractions.” He added, “Far too many...

The streetcar left much to be desired. The Democrat-run city of Washington, D.C., is derailing its $200 million boondoggle streetcar system only 10 years after the streetcars began to operate. Oh well, $200 million of our hard-earned taxpayer funds down the drain — on to the next expensive wasteful project! The costly D.C. streetcar system, only 2.2 miles long, is going into the trash heap 15 years after the track was first laid and only a decade into operations. The streetcars were justified originally as being more “environmentally friendly” — Dems love to shove in the climate hoax everywhere —...

The Missouri Legislature had once again killed a bill to restore the ability to legally exercise rights protected by the Second Amendment on public transportation. Senator Schnelting has been promoting these bills for years. They make progress, then they are killed by inaction. From mo.gov: On April 10, HB328 passed the House, 106 to 45. HB328 was sent to the Senate. On April 22, the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety committee held a hearing on the bill. On April 24, an “SCS” (Senate Committee Substitute) was passed. No other action was taken on the bill before the Senate adjourned...

When Pete Buttigieg was the Secretary of Transportation under President Biden (and whoever was actually making the calls at the White House during that time), one of the more glaring examples of bloated bureaucracy came in the form of what was required in order to qualify for government grants for infrastructure projects: Shortly after taking office, the president signed an executive order mandating that the beneficiaries of 40 percent of all federal climate and environmental programs should come from "underserved communities." The order also established the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, which monitors agencies such as the Department of...

On April 10, 2025, the Missouri House of Representatives passed gun law reform bill HB 328. The bill is essentially the same as Senate Bill SB 77, put forward by Senator Schnelting. The bills remove the ban on carrying weapons aboard most public transportation for people with concealed carry permits. Similar bills were filed in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.In 2022, the Senate leadership killed the bill due to a lack of attention. The 2024 version of the bill, HB 1708, did not pass the House. The bill has an excellent chance of passing if it can be brought to...

The Trump administration is finally tackling an issue that has plagued the nation's air traffic control system for decades. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy revealed on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning that a "brand new state-of-the-art system" is on the way to replace an infrastructure that has remained largely unchanged for 25 to 30 years. An official announcement is coming in the next few days, but Duffy explained what’s going to happen and why. "We use copper wires, floppy disks — I mean, it's atrocious, the system we use," Duffy stated. While he reassured the public that the current system...

A fiery pileup turned a quiet Friday morning into a nightmare as an inferno raged inside an Interstate 80 tunnel in southwestern Wyoming claiming at least two lives, and leaving five others seriously injured, forcing a total shutdown of the highway. Anyone trapped in the tunnel would have been forced to escape on foot through the smoke and darkness. Rescuers desperately tried to reach victims, but the tunnel’s structure - now compromised by falling concrete and searing heat - turned into a death trap.

Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) has renewed his call to repeal a little-known section of the 2021 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) containing a federal mandate that all vehicles sold after 2026 must have a kill switch. In a hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Wednesday, Massie questioned Michael Hanson who was representing the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) over the requirement for a kill switch that can disable vehicles based on a driver’s performance. Hanson affirmed that section 24220 the IIJA directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require advanced impaired driving detection...

January 2025 – including the first 10 days of Donald Trump’s second term as President of the United States – likely marks the beginning of substantial changes in federal transportation law and regulation, including a number of potentially disruptive changes to regulation of the motor vehicle industry and related funding and incentives. Republican control of the White House and both Houses of Congress, combined with a federal judiciary increasingly skeptical of expansive federal agency regulation, make this a ripe time for major changes in federal law and regulation, including regulation of transportation. President Trump and his supporters have expressed strong...

AFederal Aviation Administration warning system outage could lead to “residual delays” on Sunday morning, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy wrote on X. The FAA is working to restore the system. In the meantime, the agency has activated contingency systems to allow flight operations to continue. “The primary NOTAM system is experiencing a temporary outage, but there is currently no impact to the National Airspace System because a backup system is in place,” he wrote on X, “The (FAA) is working to fully restore the system, and there may be some residual delays tomorrow morning,” he also wrote. “We are investigating...

The Trump administration released an order on Wednesday saying the Department of Transportation will prioritize grants to communities that are cooperating with immigration officials. The order sent from the Department of Transportation is entitled “Ensuring reliance upon sound economic analysis in DOT policies, programs, and activities.” The main thrust of the order is to ensure that all funding is applied to projects that make sense on a cost-benefit basis, a goal that would eliminate the left-wing political projects that Biden’s DOT funded. However, there is also a provision in the order that states that communities will be given priority for...

Outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed during an interview on Sunday, a week before he steps down, that China has penetrated America’s water treatment plants, electric grid, and other critical civilian infrastructure, and is lying “in wait” for an opportunity to cyberattack at a time and place of its choosing. Asked on CBS’s 60 Minutes about Chinese penetration of U.S. cyber and infrastructure, Wray said China’s cyber program is the largest in the world and has stolen more of Americans’ personal and corporate data than every nation combined. Then, he added: But even beyond the cyber theft. There’s another part...

Ahmad Jamal Khamees Alhendi facing multiple charges after forcing major highway closure near GreenvilleICE has issued detainer for suspect, whose origin and immigration status remain unclear Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a detainer for a truck driver who was arrested after allegedly making a bomb threat while pulled over on I-85 in South Carolina this week, indicating he may be in the country illegally.The busy interstate was shut down for hours on Thursday afternoon after South Carolina State Transport Police pulled over an 18-wheeler with a missing license plate in Greenville County.During the stop, the driver reportedly claimed...

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is one of cinema’s most enduring classics, a sentimental yet profound exploration of how one person’s contributions ripple through a community. The story’s alternate timeline, where George Bailey never existed, paints a grim picture of what life would be like without his sacrifices. Inspired by this tale, let’s imagine an alternate reality of a different sort—a world where fossil fuels never existed. Could we, like George’s Bedford Falls, find ourselves in a global Pottersville? Let’s explore how the absence of fossil fuels might affect the very fabric of our lives, from economic systems to...

Thanks to The United States’ combination of lackluster train infrastructure and miserable flying experience, there often simply aren’t great choices to get places. Is the Greyhound bus our savior? No, absolutely not. Yet, despite the Greyhound’s reputation as as a last resort option, I’ve taken it several times (not as a last resort!) over the last few years.

“He will prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America's highways, tunnels, bridges and airports. He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEl for pilots and air traffic controllers.”

She’s no longer the teacher’s’ pet. The head of the Big Apple’s most powerful teachers’ union flunked Gov. Kathy Hochul and “tone deaf” Democrats Thursday for socking working class New Yorkers with a $9 congestion toll — a week after the election where the party took a drubbing. “It’s not what I expected to see Democrats doing a week after the election. It’s insane! Stop screwing the working class!” United Federation of Teachers President Mike Mulgrew told The Post, saying he will continue to press his active lawsuit to stop the congestion pricing plan. Aside from Hochul, Mulgrew blamed Democrats...

The massive flooding across NC and East Tennessee happened on Sept. 27. One of the busiest Interstate highways, I-40 is closed at the border of those two states after the roadway was washed away. Bridges have washed away, trapping people who can't get out. Where is the U.S. Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg? He has not uttered one statement, for the three days after this disaster. He is proof your sexual preferences do not qualify you to manage the infrastructure in this country.