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Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy warned blue states on Thursday to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders or risk losing transportation funding.
Duffy issued the warning in a statement to Breitbart News as part of an exclusive report on the ongoing battle over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and illegal immigration.
“That means recipients that have policies that actively fail to protect Americans’ right to free speech, continue to use discriminatory DEI policies, and disrupt federal agencies (like ICE) as they work to enforce federal immigration laws could face enforcement action,” a representative for Duffy shared.
A letter from the DOT to blue state leaders addressed concerns with hiring practices and efforts to reclassify programs to avoid compliance.
“Recipients of DOT financial assistance must ensure that the personnel practices (including hiring, promotions, and terminations) within their organizations are merit-based and do not discriminate based on prohibited categories,” the letter read.
“Recipients are also precluded from allocating money received under DOT awards—such as through contracts or the provision of other benefits—based on suspect classifications. Any discriminatory actions in your policies, programs, and activities based on prohibited categories constitute a clear violation of Federal law and the terms of your grant agreements,” it continued.
Some states have already faced the loss of federal funding over noncompliance. In Maine, the Trump administration has pushed to halt federal education funding after the governor refused to comply with an executive order to exclude boys from girls’ sports.
Other blue states have pushed back on Trump’s mass deportation efforts, seeking to continue sanctuary city policies developed during the Biden administration.
In March, Trump border czar Tom Homan blasted New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul on Fox News’ “Hannity” following his visit to Albany, New York, to meet with lawmakers.
“Governor Hochul stood on national TV after NYPD officers were assaulted, saying she thinks criminal aliens should be deported. She said the same thing after a young woman was burned alive on a subway by an illegal alien. So she says, yeah, criminal aliens should be deported,” Homan told host Sean Hannity.
“However, when Mayor Adams meets me and wants to help us arrest criminal aliens, get us back on Riker’s Island, she goes down and tries to fire him. She’s got the green light law where ICE officers and CBP officers can’t get DMV data. When they pull a car over here, they don’t even know who they are because they can’t get data to DMV because she locked them out,” he continued.
