Sean Duffy says the grant pushed “radical day and green agenda” rather than focusing on taxpayer transportation needs.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced the firing of seven federally funded university research grants. It says the program is a wasteful, ideologically divisive project that is outside the scope of the Department of Transport’s core mission.
The grant supported a research project that Duffy said was used to waste taxpayer resources and advance a “radical day and green agenda” that was not consistent with American transport priorities.
Seven cancelled grants were awarded to research centers at UC Davis University, New York City College, University of Southern California, New York University, San Jose State University, New Orleans University, and Johns Hopkins University.
He cited specific examples he called the misuse of funding ideology, including a $12 million grant to UC Davis for research into “accelerating equitable decarbonization,” and a $9 million grant to New York City College, to study “equal transport for disadvantaged transport.”
The Epoch Times have contacted all seven universities that the Department of Transport has named for comments. After being announced, the University of California-Davis responded with a substantial reply, while San Jose State declined to comment.
A UC Davis spokesman said in an emailed statement that the university has received dozens of notifications from federal agencies related to specific grants or projects since Trump took office, with subsidies that have spread affected, such as “cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, food production and safety, renewable energy, basic science, and more.”
“The intent and need for action in federal notices vary widely,” the statement continued. “In each case, the Research Bureau has directly worked with the lead investigator and campus leadership to determine the appropriate course of action. In the event of a completion of the study, this includes filing a direct appeal with the agency, litigating the matter in court, and negotiations for financial settlements before involving the research.”
Under the order, the Ministry of Education, along with the Attorney General and the Office of Control and Budget, was tasked with identifying the most “severely discriminatory practitioners” between the university and K-12 schools. The Department of Education has also directed up to nine universities with donations over $1 billion to open civil rights investigations.
They also directed all federal agencies to remove references to gender identity from internal policies and to ensure that gender-based protections are defined based solely on biological gender.
