MaddowBlog-Why is the transportation secretary complaining about 'DEI bike lanes'?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Sean Duffy isn’t the only Republican complaining about DEI, but he seems to have an expansive definition of the idea.

The administration’s Dept of Transportation had a website encouraging municipalities to install bike lanes.

Then Sean Duffy started complaining about “DEI bike lanes.”

Wouldn't you know it, the website doesn't exist anymore.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-07-10T20:19:47.118Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/sean-duffy-dei-bike-lanes-transportation

The trouble is that some in the party have adopted a rather expansive definition of the underlying idea. The New Republic noted this week:

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday that his department would redirect $1.73 billion in Biden-era grants away from establishing “DEI bike lanes” to build roads and bridges instead.

So, what exactly is a “DEI bike lane?”

In case this isn’t obvious, the description of the transportation secretary’s announcement wasn’t intended as humor. Duffy actually wrote on social media, “Remember when Biden and Boot-edge-edge used YOUR MONEY for DEI bike lanes and climate change? THAT’S OVER.” (He was referring to Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, Duffy’s immediate predecessor at the DOT.)....

Indeed, up until very recently, the Trump administration didn’t have a problem with bike lanes. The Federal Highway Administration (part of the Department of Transportation that Duffy leads) had a dedicated website that told the public as recently as two months ago, “To make bicycling safer and more comfortable for most types of bicyclists, State and local agencies should consider installing bicycle lanes. Providing bicycle facilities can mitigate or prevent interactions, conflicts, and crashes between bicyclists and motor vehicles, and create a network of safer roadways for bicycling.”

That site was recently taken down without explanation — which is not the first time the Trump administration decided that accurate information on a federal online resource had to be removed because it was at odds with the White House’s political agenda.