Feds threaten Oregon transportation funding over DEI and driver’s license policies

“It is the policy of the department to award and to continue to provide federal financial assistance only to those recipients who comply with their legal obligations,” Duffy wrote in a letter, making it clear in the following four pages that he interprets the law differently than former President Joe Biden’s administration. 

Those changes will be a tough swallow for the Oregon Department of Transportation, which is counting on a total of $1.6 billion in federal funding over the 2025–27 budget cycle.

Some of that comes from Oregon’s share of federal gas tax revenues, which are distributed to all states, but the agency also regularly applies for grants for projects such as the Interstate Bridge Replacement and the expansion of Interstate 5 through the Rose Quarter.

The agency will struggle with Duffy’s directive.

In 2023, ODOT publisheda 31-page affirmative action plan, incorporating a top priority of Gov. Tina Kotek in the agency’s operations and for its nearly 5,000 employees.

But Duffy pointedly said such plans will not fly under President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Whether or not described in neutral terms, any policy, program or activity that is premised on a prohibited classification, including discriminatory policies or practices designed to achieve so-called ‘diversity, equity and inclusion,’ or ‘DEI’ goals presumptively violates federal law,” Duffy wrote in an April 24 letter addressed to “All Recipients of U.S. Department of Transportation Funding.”

Duffy’s mandate also veers into an area where Oregon laws and federal policies conflicted during the first Trump administration.

“Your legal obligations require cooperation generally with federal authorities in the enforcement of federal law, including cooperating with and not impeding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal offices and components of the Department of Homeland Security,” Duffy wrote.

“DOT has noted reported instances where some recipients of federal financial assistance have declined to cooperate with ICE investigations, have issued driver’s licenses to individuals present in the United States in violation of Federal immigration law, or have otherwise acted in a manner that impedes Federal law enforcement.”

That, of course, describes both Oregon’s approach as a sanctuary state, in which local law enforcement and other government agencies do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Oregon is also one of several blue states that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. (Duffy’s letter is silent on whether he expects Oregon and other states to rescind those licenses or stop issuing them.)

Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services, which is part of ODOT, issues the driver’s licenses Duffy wants stopped. It also controls a database of all Oregon residents that would be a treasure trove of personal information for federal immigration officials if they were given access.

Another Oregon public agency, the Port of Portland, which is highly dependent on federal funding and the good graces of the Federal Aviation Administration, quickly acceded to federal demands. The port commission voted to rescind the port’s DEI policies earlier this week.

ODOT is less dependent on federal money, but as the agency has made clear, it is in desperate financial shape.

Kotek, who oversees the agency, pushed back against Duffy’s message.

“This letter is another thinly veiled threat to Oregonians seeking to undermine our values and our right to govern ourselves,” says Kotek’s spokeswoman, Roxy Mayer. “The governor will not back down from a fight. She is committed to protecting Oregon’s immigrant communities, supporting safe roads, and fighting for the prosperity of every Oregonian.”

•••

This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project (oregonjournalismproject.org), a nonprofit investigative newsroom for the state of Oregon.