(LifeSiteNews) — President Donald Trump’s Catholic Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary believes that federal infrastructure grants should give priority to growing communities with high birth rates.
Secretary Sean Duffy, a Catholic father of nine kids, directed the Transportation Department to consider a variety of factors in awarding grants, including “the accessibility of transportation to families with young children.”
The department should also “give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average,” according to the memo.
The memo also prohibited grant recipients, such as public train or bus systems, from imposing vaccine and mask mandates. It also included other guidelines such as minimizing pollution.
Duffy also ordered an end to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives and burdensome climate change restrictions put in place by the Biden administration.
“Today’s actions mark an important step in restoring commonsense governance and merit-based policies at USDOT. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are focused on eliminating excessive regulations that have hindered economic growth, increased costs for American families, and prioritized far-left agendas over practical solutions,” Duffy stated in a news release. “The American people deserve an efficient, safe, and pro-growth transportation system based on sound decision-making, not political ideologies. These actions will help us deliver on that promise.”
READ: Justice Clarence Thomas advises Sean Duffy after swearing in: ‘Go to daily Mass and pray’
Duffy is married to Rachel Campos-Duffy, a Fox News commentator. The couple have six children together.
During Duffy’s swearing-in, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is also Catholic, gave him advice. According to Rachel Campos-Duffy, Justice Thomas said: “Go to daily Mass & pray this prayer every day: ‘Lord, give me the wisdom to know what to do & the courage to do it.”
He also led his family in praying the “Hail Mary” prior to his confirmation hearing, as LifeSiteNews reported in January.
President Trump’s pick for Transportation Secretary @SeanDuffyWI leads his family of nine in prayer before his confirmation hearing. pic.twitter.com/x1F5NHh2Zf
— LifeSiteNews (@LifeSite) January 16, 2025
“We pray together; we go to Mass together,” Campos-Duffy previously said in 2019, when interviewed about her family. “It’s not always perfect by any stretch, but I think we all have a general direction and sense of what’s important in life. And both Sean and I come from families where family is really important.”
WATCH: Trump admin pick Sean Duffy prays Hail Mary with family before confirmation hearing