‘On Budget, On Time’: Sean Duffy Says This Is How Trump Will Make Infrastructure Projects More Accountable

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy appeared on Newsmax Wednesday and described President Donald Trump’s infrastructure strategy and said that projects under his administration will be both financially responsible and timely.

Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for all countries, excluding China, which will face a 125% increase. This caused markets to surge in response. During an appearance on “Carl Higbie Frontline,” Duffy discussed how leveraging tariff revenues could support infrastructure initiatives and said they’re going to make Trump’s infrastructure projects much more accountable.

“You mentioned the California high-speed rail. It’s been 16 years and $16 billion. Not one track is laid. You have nothing for it. Liberals love trains, and liberals love subways and public transportation,” Duffy said. “Look at New York. It is dirty. It’s filthy. It’s violent. People don’t want to ride that. Wouldn’t it be great if you were liberal and you could say ‘I’m going to make this a beautiful experience and a really safe experience for the New York or New Jersey rider’”?

Duffy said the Trump administration is committed to real results over political gain.

“What I’m going to do with President Trump, we are going to invest in the great projects that will be built, that will be on budget, on time, and move people. It’s really simple stuff. And these boondoggles, like in California, where people get rich and nothing is ever built, we’re done with that,” Duffy told Higbie. “It’s making the American people rich with great infrastructure, not politicians’ spouses.”

Duffy said infrastructure plays a critical role in a thriving economy and added that Trump is deeply invested in building.

“The president loves coal, beautiful clean coal. He loves all infrastructure because, again, it moves our people and our products around the country,” Duffy said. “You can’t have an advanced economy without great infrastructure, and the president recognizes that Democrats — though they spend a lot of money on, in air quotes, infrastructure — it never gets built. This president wants to build big, beautiful roads and bridges and rail and ports and ships.”

Duffy then described Trump’s vision for enhanced airports and a new air traffic control system.

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“He wants beautiful airports, safe airplanes, a brand-new air traffic control system. How the transportation system works is how the economy functions, and the president loves this stuff. He gets it,” Duffy said.

Duffy commented on the economic strategies supporting these initiatives, including leveraging tariff revenues.

“The president brought this up in the Oval [Office]. Bringing in $2 billion a day plus plus is what he said, in tariff revenue. And, again, this is gonna be at 10% globally. We’re gonna bring in a massive amount of money. We’re gonna protect American workers and, by the way, the president stands up with the men and women who make the products in this country. They make this country work,” Duffy said. (RELATED: ‘Insolvent And Foolish’: Biden-Harris Admin Gives Millions To High-Speed Rail Project That Has Been Stalled For Years)

California’s high-speed rail project, initially estimated at $40 billion to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco, now requires an additional $7 billion by June 2026 to prevent further delays. The project’s costs have escalated to over $100 billion, and the Bakersfield-Merced line is not expected to be complete until at least 2030.

California has spent about $14 billion on the high-speed rail project and needs to invest at least $28 billion more to complete the Bakersfield-Merced line, with $600 million already used on environmental reviews. The project, which includes ongoing pre-construction planning in the Bay Area, cleared all necessary environmental hurdles for the Los Angeles-San Francisco line only in 2024.

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