March 18, 2025

By Lane Kimble

Gov. Tony Evers leaned into DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s Wisconsin heritage this week, calling on him to ensure federally funded projects in the Badger State aren’t delayed or outright canceled.

Evers sent a letter Thursday to Duffy urging the former Northwoods Congressman to take “immediate action” to clear up uncertainty.

“The chaos caused by President Trump’s executive orders and subsequent actions by federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, have led to delays and uncertainty about the availability of congressionally approved transportation funding programs and the projects these programs Congress intended to support,” Evers wrote.

The governor’s letter comes in the weeks following a flurry of presidential executive orders, including one in January that temporarily paused all federal transportation grant funding.

The president reversed that decision the next day.

Duffy has taken some swift action of his own since his Senate confirmation, canceling several Biden-era memos that directed FHWA to prioritize projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, benefit minority communities, and promote the use of electric vehicles.

“The previous administration flouted Congress in an attempt to push a radical social and environmental agenda on the American people,” Duffy said last week. “This was an act of federal overreach.  It stops now.”

Evers specifically flagged Wisconsin projects such as the St. Croix River Bridge repairs in Douglas County, culvert and surface replacements in Menominee County, and the state’s EV charging build out which is now on hold.

Evers’ letter also cited a similar one American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials President Garrett Eucalitto wrote to Duffy last week.