March 20, 2025
Reviewing Grant Awards for Policy Alignment, Government Averts Shutdown
Flagging Transportation Grants for Non-Compliance
In an unofficial memo, the U.S. Department of Transportation directed its agencies to investigate competitive grant selections made after Jan. 20, 2021, that are partially obligated. Specifically, if a project includes any of the following activities, they will be flagged for potential removal before further funds can be drawn down:
[E]quity activities, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) activities, climate change activities, environmental justice (EJ) activities, gender-specific activities, when the primary purpose is bicycle infrastructure (i.e., recreational trails and shared-use paths, etc.), electric vehicles (EV), and EV charging infrastructure.
This memo puts at risk any applicable USDOT grants cities may have been awarded but where the grant agreements have not been fully executed. Click here for a more detailed analysis of the memo, including a quantitative state-by-state analysis, by the nonpartisan nonprofit Transportation for America.
Driving Disaster Preparedness Efforts to Local Levels
On Tuesday, March 18, President Trump issued the Executive Order (EO) “Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness” (fact sheet here) calling for emergency preparedness responsibilities to shift from the Federal government to the state, local and individual levels. It is unclear how the state and local investments in disaster preparedness envisioned by this order would be bolstered and funded. This signals another step by the Administration to reassess federal support for disaster response, following a Jan. 24 order calling to evaluate the efficacy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency responsible for administering disaster aid nationwide.
Last month, FEMA notified every grantee to provide additional information about their funding request, including specific activities and any subrecipients, before it could be granted. The notice is in line with government-wide efforts to align any disbursement of funds with Administration priorities, not excluding awards that have already been approved and committed to a recipient.
Housing Shortage in the Spotlight
The Trump Administration is working to address the affordable housing shortage, presenting it as an opportunity for partnership between the federal, state and local levels. On Sunday, March 16, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that their two departments have formed the Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing to find federal lands that could be used for residential development. This taskforce aims to work with “state and local leaders who know their communities best,” focus on streamlining regulatory procedures and bring in rural communities that have been overlooked. The Library of Congress reports that, as of 2018, 5.2% of land in Georgia is federally owned, ranking 26th in the nation.
During last week’s National League of Cities congressional conference, Vice President J.D. Vance discussed the American dream of homeownership. On the side of housing supply, he called on local leaders to be “smarter about local zoning rules” and look introspectively at how they might pose barriers to development. On the demand side, he blamed the influx of migrants who “compete with American citizens for the cost of homes” and raising housing prices. Watch Vice President Vance’s full speech here.
Congress Averts Shutdown
In a close call on Friday, March 14, the Senate gathered enough Democratic votes to pass a continuing resolution to keep the federal government’s lights on through Sept. 30, 2025. The bill reduces non-defense spending by $13 billion from FY2024 levels, while increasing the defense budget slightly. The FY2025 Congressionally Directed Spending requests did not make the cut, leaving billions of dollars off the table for local governments and nonprofits.