New York Times: Larsen, Warren Accuse Trump Administration of Stonewalling Major Transit Projects

This press release from Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA) was published on 2026-08-13 and titled "New York Times: Larsen, Warren Accuse Trump Administration of Stonewalling Major Transit Projects".

New York Times: Larsen, Warren Accuse Trump Administration of Stonewalling Major Transit Projects

Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02), top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, joined 39 congressional Democrats in demanding that the Trump administration stop delaying the advancement of public transportation projects funded by the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. As reported in the New York Times : "' It smacks of blue state-red state politics,' said Representative Rick Larsen of Washington, the lead Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who organized the letter with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. ' What they’re doing is they’re punishing blue states, they’re delaying jobs, and they’re increasing project costs,' Mr. Larsen said. ' That will be the outcome of these delays.' Other projects in red states, he said, may be collateral damage in the administration’s hostility toward the program. Currently, the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) has access to more than $1.9 billion in unobligated and unallocated funds ready to be spent. However, the Trump administration continues to hold up significant projects instead of spending its infrastructure dollars. “We have watched for months as the FTA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have stonewalled the progress of worthy transit projects while President Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Duffy are proclaiming a commitment to a 'golden age of transportation,'” the congressional Democrats wrote in a letter to FTA Acting Deputy Administrator Matthew Cahill and OMB Director Russell Vought. “Every $1 invested in transit generates $5 in long-term economic value. Conversely, failing to deliver on long-promised transit investment carries serious economic consequences,” the members continued. The members concluded by reminding the Trump administration officials of the historically bipartisan nature of CIG-funded projects and demanded that their agencies immediately advance the stalled projects – regardless of a state’s 2024 election results. You can read the full letter HERE and below. Dear Director Vought and Acting Deputy Administrator Cahill, We write to express deep concern regarding reports that your agencies are delaying the advancement of public transportation projects within the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) pipeline. As members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees and as members of the House and Senate representing affected projects, we have an obligation to ensure that the CIG program is carried out in accordance with statutory requirements that have been enacted to ensure that taxpayer resources are not wasted as a result of delay by the federal government. We have watched for months as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have stonewalled the progress of worthy transit projects while President Trump and Department of Transportation Secretary Duffy are proclaiming a commitment to a “golden age of transportation.” We would like to remind you that such a vision is woefully incomplete if it does not include delivering CIG projects that will provide fast, frequent and reliable transit service across the nation. The growing backlog of projects in limbo due to FTA and OMB inaction is unacceptable. Since last fall, your agencies have neglected to advance the Boston Green Line Transformation project, the Los Angeles Southeast Gateway Line and the Salt Lake City region’s Frontrunner 2X project into the CIG Engineering phase—without justification for the delay. Last week, FTA moved the Utah project into Engineering, a welcome development, but the two other projects remain stalled. This delay is occurring despite the fact that FTA currently has access to more than $1.9 billion in unobligated and unallocated funds that are available to support CIG projects, and Congress has consistently appropriated new funds each year to the CIG program. The Frontrunner 2X project has already been allocated $594 million of CIG funding, and based on FTA’s commitment at Engineering entry last week, the project will need only $693 million of additional CIG program funds. We wish to remind you that the projects in Boston, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City have all completed a comprehensive rating process pursuant to the CIG program guidance that was most recently updated by FTA in November of 2025, under President Trump’s administration. Each of the three projects received an overall project rating that qualified them to enter the Engineering phase and later receive a Full Funding Grant Agreement. In fact, the projects in Boston and Los Angeles received an overall higher rating of “medium-high,” compared to the “medium” overall rating of the Utah project. FTA and OMB should advance all projects that meet statutory criteria, and your agencies should not impose any further de