Millions in federal grants awarded to airports and rail operations in Florida during the presidency of Joe Biden seem to be intact after the Trump Administration launched its campaign to slash the cost of government, local officials said this week.
A recent pledge by the U.S. Department of Transportation to review a troubled multi-billion dollar high-speed rail project in California raised the prospect that budget cutters in the Trump Administration’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are poised to take a close look at the money flowing from Washington for an array of rail and other transportation projects around the country.
In an announcement last Thursday, Sean Duffy, the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Transportation, publicly criticized the California High Speed Rail Authority for construction delays and cost overruns on a line designed to whisk passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco. .
He said it was supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion. The latest estimate: $106 billion.
“For too long, taxpayers have subsidized the massively over-budget and delayed California High-Speed Rail project,” Duffy said. “President Trump is right that this project is in dire need of an investigation. That is why I am directing my staff to review and determine whether the CHSRA has followed through on the commitments it made to receive billions of dollars in federal funding. If not, I will have to consider whether that money could be given to deserving infrastructure projects elsewhere in the United States.”
By contrast, Duffy said, Brightline West has expedited its planned 218-mile high speed rail line that would connect the Greater Los Angeles area with Las Vegas, Nev., at a cost of $12 billion. The federal government has forwarded a grant of $3 billion.
“The slow progress by CHSRA contrasts with the impressive work of Brightline West to build a high-speed rail system,” Duffy said, noting the company plans to start service by 2028.
“All of the high-speed rail projects underway across the country are creating good-paying American jobs and will provide the safe, efficient, and affordable transportation options that American travelers want and deserve,” said president and CEO Andy Kunz of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association in Washington. “These projects, now taking shape in Texas, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and beyond, will turbocharge economic development, reduce traffic jams, and help usher in a new golden age of transportation.”
It was the Biden Administration that delivered the federal dollars for Brightline West, and before President Joe Biden left office, his administration showered the nation’s rail and commercial aviation systems with billions more to expand and repair those transportation networks.
There are multiple examples of rail and aviation grants for Florida, a state that was among the largest recipients of the previous administration’s transportation funding programs.
Benefits for Florida rail lines
In South Florida, Tri-Rail, the publicly subsidized commuter line that runs most west of Interstate 95 between a point north of West Palm Beach and Miami International Airport, received $71 million to buy new equipment such as locomotives and passenger coaches.
“The funds for our rolling stock are still intact, and we remain optimistic about retaining them to procure new equipment,” said Victor Garcia, spokesman for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail.
Brightline Florida, the higher speed railroad connecting Miami with Orlando, has received a number of federal grants in concert with South Florida communities for rail safety upgrades and expansion. A company spokesman said there have not been any interruptions of money earmarked for Brightline’s safety projects or a recent $33.8 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to speed up the delivery of additional train sets.
A lift for airports
In early 2024, Florida airports, including South Florida’s three international gateways in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, all received federal funds for infrastructure projects ranging from terminal connectors to runway improvements. The allocation was part of a national distribution totaling $1 billion.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport said there has been no change in the allocation of federal money earmarked for their facilities.
“As of today, federal grants secured under the Biden Administration through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Airport Improvement Program (AIP) remain intact with no financial or administrative impacts on grants awarded and obligated to our airport under these programs,” the Broward County Aviation Department, the airport operator, said in a statement.
The department said it has not been made aware of “any changes to either ‘awarded and obligated’ or “awarded and not yet obligated’ federal grants.”
Federal dollars also continue to flow into Palm Beach International for work on airfield improvements.
“All active federal grant reimbursement requests have continued to be processed without delay, including reimbursements in connection with the $17.2 [million] grant for the PBI central airfield project awarded last year,” spokesperson Rebeca Kroman said in an email.
Miami International Airport, which received $27 million to help fix an elevated train system, did not respond to a request for comment. The airport, which welcomed a record 56 million passengers last year, has embarked upon a multi-year, $9 billion modernization program with multiple funding sources.
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