EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s Transportation Department Reviewing Grants Funding DEI, Green New Deal Initiatives

President Donald Trump’s Department of is reviewing a few thousand grants awarded during the Biden administration in an effort to root out anything funding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or Green New Deal initiatives, the Daily Caller has learned.

During the Biden administration, the Transportation Department revealed thousands of “unobligated but announced grants,” for the years 2022 to 2026, totaling roughly more than $40 billion. The grants, which have yet to be officially awarded, are now under review by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Grants including funding that does not comply with Trump’s executive orders on DEI initiatives, the Green New Deal and EV charging infrastructure may be canceled, according to a memo obtained by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: ‘Death Of The Green New Scam’: Zeldin Declares End To Left’s Climate ‘Grift’)

“All competitive grant and cooperative agreement award selections must comply with current Administration priorities and Executive Orders (EO) that address energy, climate change, diversity and gender, and economic analysis, and other priorities,” the memo reads.

The memo cites several Trump executive orders including “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” and the “Secretarial Memorandum on Implementation of Executive Orders Addressing Energy, Climate Change, Diversity and Gender.”

Previous reports noted that the department is planning on pausing such funding or grants. A source familiar with the situation told the Caller that the department is not yet pausing any of the funding, rather reviewing it to ensure that the grants are compliant with the law and the president’s priorities.

The source added that the goal is to have the department grants fund “safety and core infrastructure” in an effort to “allow projects to be completed more quickly and more affordably.”

President Donald Trump signs executive orders during an event at Capital One Arena, part of the 60th inaugural ceremonies on January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford /The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“The Biden Administration’s lack of action and emphasis on priorities other than building created an unprecedented backlog of unobligated grants, and we have every right to give them a closer look,” a department spokesperson told the Caller.

“The American people are eager to see fewer of their tax dollars subsidizing a woke DEI ideology, radical Green New Deal projects, or other wasteful programs. Grants focused on relieving congestion and bolstering safety are and will be the priority for President Trump and Secretary Duffy,” the spokesperson added.

Other agencies have started rooting out DEI programs following Trump’s day one executive order targeting such initiatives in the federal government. In February, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA), started to clean out such programs from its agencies. (RELATED: Trump’s FEMA Moves To Purge Use Of DEI, Climate Phrases)

In a similar vein, Trump signed another executive order prohibiting federal funding to K-12 schools that teach Critical Race Theory or radical gender ideology, the Daily Caller first reported.