Gavin Newsom Hits Sean Duffy With Blunt Factcheck After Duffy Tries To Take Credit For New Infrastructure Grants

California Governor Gavin Newsom gave Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy a pretty important reminder after Duffy touted $1.5 billion in new infrastructure grants as a win for the Trump administration.

Duffy shared a video of different landmarks of U.S. infrastructure—including the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and Portland's Union Station—that would be improved as a result of BUILD grants allocated because of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which President Joe Biden signed in 2021.

Duffy wrote:

"America is BUILDING! There is now $1.5 BILLION going to infrastructure projects all around the USA. It’s the Golden Age of Transportation!"

You can see his post below.

But Newsom came in and noted "Thanks, Joe Biden!" above a Community Note pointing out that BUILD grants are a direct result of the IIJA.

You can see his post and the note below.

@GavinNewsom/X

Newsom is right.

The IIJA authorized $1.2 trillion in funding and the increased federal spending in recent years has improved U.S. ports, roads, parks, and other services in a country that civil engineers have long said spends too little on infrastructure.

Notably, the bill included $550 billion in new funding into transportation, broadband and utilities. The BUILD grants for the next fiscal year that Duffy touted exist precisely because Biden signed the IIJA into law.

Only 13 House Republicans supported the IIJA. Several of those lawmakers later left Congress after facing intense backlash from the right, including threats and harsh criticism from then-former President Donald Trump, who said they should be “ashamed of themselves.” Most Republicans opposed the legislation, citing its massive cost and a broader reluctance to hand Biden a legislative victory.

Many joined Newsom in calling Duffy out.

For all this talk celebrating infrastructure, the Trump administration has shown through its actions that it doesn't care about infrastructure at all.

This week, Trump is facing heavy criticism for suspending licenses for five large-scale offshore wind projects, citing national security concerns.

This decision impacts offshore wind projects off the Atlantic Coast and has sent shares of offshore wind companies tumbling. The move is just a further example of how the Trump administration is moving away from renewable energy while backing fossil fuels, despite the proven connection between these same fossil fuels and the acceleration of climate change.

Despite this, Trump has described wind farms as costly and inefficient—and has even blamed them for rising cancer rates, raising eyebrows everywhere.