Tech billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have supported a recent decision by the US Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to cancel $54 million worth of grants to several universities.
On Friday, Duffy announced that seven universities would lose their federal funding. The schools include:
- University of Southern California
- New York University
- San Jose State University
- University of New Orleans
- Johns Hopkins University
- City College of New York
- University of California, Davis
According to Duffy, the grants were being used for programs focused on diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and green energy goals, which he believes were not a good use of taxpayer money. He called the projects “radical” and “wasteful.”
DOGE praised the move on X (formerly Twitter), saying:
“Great job by @SecDuffy and @USDOT for ending 7 wasteful grants worth $54M and saving $51M.”
DOGE also pointed out some specific projects that were canceled, such as:
- $6 million for planning to improve road safety for women and gender non-conforming people
- $12 million to support fair and fast decarbonization
- $6 million to study pollution differences across New York City neighborhoods
They added that the Department of Transportation is working to cut more waste and will share more updates soon.
Elon Musk also shared his opinion on X. He said he was glad DOGE and Secretary Duffy were stopping studies like one that aimed to find out whether roads could be “racist.”
“This was an actual thing that was happening!” Musk wrote, showing his disbelief.
This move has sparked conversations online about government spending and which types of projects deserve funding.
