New Transportation Secretary Tells Agency To Prioritize Areas With Higher ‘Marriage And Birth Rates’

Under the previous administration, the Department of Transportation was one of many federal agencies that appeared to place more value on so-called diversity than competency.

As President Donald Trump and others have theorized in the wake of some recent tragic aviation disasters, those woke hiring policies were potentially a factor in making travel less safe in America.

🚨 REPORTER: How did you come to the conclusion that DEI had something to do with this crash?

TRUMP: "Because I have common sense."

Mic drop. pic.twitter.com/Uzdl1ogBFZ

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 30, 2025

Now, Trump’s pick to run the Transportation Department is pursuing a policy that prioritizes resources not on characteristics like race, gender, and sexual orientation, but on factors that truly impact an area’s need.

As The Hill reported:

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a memo told the Department of Transportation (DOT) to prioritize communities that have higher birth and marriage rates.

“To the maximum extent permitted by law, DOT-supported or -assisted programs and activities, including without limitation, all DOT grants, loans, contracts, and DOT-supported or -assisted State contracts, shall prioritize projects and goals that … mitigate the unique impacts of DOT programs, policies, and activities on families and family-specific difficulties, such as the accessibility of transportation to families with young children, and give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average,” reads the undated memo, which says it is effective immediately.

The memo could impact, among many other programs, the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant, meaning investments in public transportation including commuter rail, light rail and bus transit.

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According to data released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. birth rate had hit a new low after declining for the last 17 years.

Duffy has also been effective at combating the leftist attacks on Trump’s policies, as evidenced by this CNN interview:

It is Sean Duffy’s turn to embarrass Jake Tapper. Please send this to anybody who is still peddling the lie that President Trump put a hiring freeze on air traffic control. pic.twitter.com/rXWhAsP9jo

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) February 2, 2025

Here’s how he described his mission at the helm of the agency:

The mission of @USDOT and @FAANews is safety. The last administration prioritized the environment and social justice over safety. Under the Trump Administration, we are back on mission.

“We’re focused on safety and having the best people delivering that safety. I don’t care… pic.twitter.com/TFVI3R6beR

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 2, 2025

The general consensus, particularly among MAGA supporters, is that Duffy represents a massive upgrade over former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg:

Sean Duffy has just been sworn in as Transportation Secretary.

JD Vance performed the swearing-in.

Pete Buttigieg is GONE! Huge upgrade! pic.twitter.com/eeSjZn5AG4

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) January 29, 2025

Meanwhile, Buttigieg is busy trying to plot his next move, as Fox News reported:

Former Secretary of Transportation and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is not ruling out a possible Senate run in Michigan in 2026, following Sen. Gary Peters’ decision not to seek re-election.

“Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve,” a source familiar with the millennial Democrat’s thinking told Fox News Digital.

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“He’s honored to be mentioned for this, and he’s taking a serious look.”

Buttigieg’s potential interest in running for Senate was first reported by Axios.

“I always thought there would be a time that I would step aside and pass the reins for the next generation. I also never saw service in Congress as something you do your whole life,” Peters told the Detroit News in an interview published on Tuesday.

Here’s some more coverage of Duffy’s early impact on the Transportation Department: