Federal Department
Appears in 4 stories
Terminated grant, reallocating funds
The United States has never built a true high-speed rail line. For over a decade, Texas Central Railway has attempted to change that with a 240-mile bullet train connecting Houston and Dallas—using Japanese Shinkansen technology to cut a 3.5-hour drive to 90 minutes. On April 14, 2025, the Trump administration terminated a $64 million federal planning grant, calling the project 'a waste of taxpayer funds' and returning the initiative entirely to private control.
Updated Feb 10
Administering final year of IIJA funding before September 2026 expiration; facing proposed $15.2B cuts
China just front-loaded $42 billion in infrastructure spending for early 2026—281 projects approved before the calendar even flipped. New airports, cross-sea ferries, reservoirs, and power grids are breaking ground now. Meanwhile, the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed with $1.2 trillion in 2021, has spent just 21% of its funds as of December 2024. The law expires September 2026, and Trump's May 2025 budget proposal seeks to cancel $15.2 billion in unobligated IIJA funding for renewable energy and clean tech. China builds 50,000 kilometers of high-speed rail in 17 years. America debates one line in California.
Updated Jan 11
Umbrella department driving deregulation priorities affecting FHWA programs
On December 17, 2025, two FHWA rollbacks took effect that sound boring—and matter anyway. The agency removed the formal, on-the-books requirements that told the Forest Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs how to run safety, bridge, pavement, and congestion management systems for certain federally funded roads.
Updated Dec 17, 2025
Political sponsor and funding advocate for the ATC rebuild
The FAA is no longer talking about “modernization” like it’s a distant science project. In a House hearing, Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency will commit $6 billion by the end of 2025 to upgrade ATC telecom networks and radar surveillance—aiming to deploy by the end of 2028.
Updated Dec 16, 2025
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