Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

Since his inauguration, Trump’s executive orders and other actions have come at a dizzying pace. Planetizen’s Federal Action Tracker is here to cut through the noise and help you keep up. Each week, we’ll monitor the impacts that new federal actions are having on housing, transportation, infrastructure, land use and other areas of planning. We’ll check in as various actions are challenged in court, altered, or reversed.

If you’re feeling the impacts of Trump’s new policies in your work, help us keep up! Tell us what you’re seeing on the ground and send us news articles, reports or memos that are impacting your field of planning, or your region. You can email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Federal Action Tracker Tip.” You can also send us a comment or DM on Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook, or submit through the comment box in the right hand corner of this page.

This first week, we’ll cover some of the basics and what’s happened up until now. Check in weekly on Wednesdays for new updates.

April 9, 2025

Transportation

EO 14151 “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing”

This executive order, one of the most impactful so far, cuts across all federal agencies, targeting “any program associated with diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI); accessibility, or environmental justice.” This broad definition is being used to review and, in some cases, suspend funding for sustainable transportation, public transit agencies, transportation equity programs, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and road safety initiatives.

Under the order, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has issued multiple memos that halt or attempt to rescind funding for programs that fall under the broad ‘DEI’ umbrella. Examples include:

• A March 10, 2025 memo that rescinds two previous memos issued during the Biden administration, one from 2021 and an update from 2023, both titled “Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America.” The now defunct memos directed the Federal Highway Administration to “Promote and improve safety for all road users, particularly vulnerable ones,” ensure Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, address environmental impacts, and reflect “the inclusion of disadvantaged and under-represented groups in the planning, project selection, and design process,” among other items. The new memo, titled “U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Rescinds Memos Issued By Biden Administration That Injected Social Justice, Radical Environmental Agenda Into Infrastructure Funding Decisions” “affirms that these Biden-era policies have no basis in statute and have no role in DOT programs going forward.”
• An undated memo sent around March 11, announcing a review of all projects that include bike lanes, EV charging infrastructure, and any climate change-related projects, specifically calling out projects “whose primary purpose is bicycle infrastructure.” The memo orders a review of all funds granted after January 20, 2021 and could include the $5 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All initiative, which directs funds to projects that improve safety and mobility to local communities. In response, a group of nonprofits sued the administration, arguing that the President cannot rescind funding approved by Congress. The memo states:
  • Identify Programs for which award selections may have included any of the following elements: equity activities, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) activities, climate change activities, environmental justice (EJ) activities, gender-specific activities, when the primary purpose is bicycle infrastructure (i.e., recreational trails and shared-use paths, etc.), electric vehicles (EV), and EV charging infrastructure. Additionally, project-by-project review of selections to identify any project scope elements for potential removal are required for any Programs that meet the criteria below:
    • Statutory language includes equity requirements, climate considerations, or bicycle infrastructure.
    • NOFO mandatory evaluation criteria includes equity and/or climate requirements.
    • Eligible activities included bicycle infrastructure, EV and/or EV charging infrastructure.
• An April 1 memo announcing over $982 million for the updated Safe Streets program with “DEI/climate requirements” removed from the application.

EO 14154 “Unleashing American Energy”

This order encourages energy exploration and production on federal lands to “unleash America's affordable and reliable energy and natural resources.” It also eliminates electric vehicle incentives and terminates “where appropriate, state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles.”

This includes:

• A DOT memo from February 5 ended the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which supported the building of a nationwide EV charging network along major highways, “immediately suspending the approval of all State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment plans for all fiscal years.”
• Ending the federal exemption that let California mandate the state’s shift to electric vehicles by 2035.

Other actions impacting transportation

Under the new administration, USDOT also:

• Revoked its approval of New York City’s congestion pricing program in a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The decision is currently being challenged in court by multiple groups.
• Tasked the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) with reducing crime on their systems and providing information to USDOT about crime prevention efforts. The letters threaten to withhold federal funding if the agencies fail to comply.
• Ordered a review of the California high-speed rail project, which is counting on $4 billion in federal funding to complete part of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles rail line.

Housing

EO 14151 “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing”

This order threatens programs that support fair housing and fight housing discrimination, housing vouchers and other rental assistance programs, homelessness prevention initiatives, and utilities assistance programs that many Americans rely on. For example:

• On February 27, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revoked grant funding for 78 fair housing organizations that fight against housing discrimination.The organizations sued and, in late March, a judge ordered HUD to release $30 million in frozen fair housing grants, noting that the funds were congressionally allocated.

EO 14154 “Unleashing American Energy”

This order calls for a pause in the disbursement of grants under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which include housing assistance programs and grants for building retrofits and upgrades. The order states the administration intends “to safeguard the American people's freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances.”

So far, HUD has: 

• Fired the entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which funded heating and cooling assistance for low-income households facing dangerous weather conditions
• Suspended the disbursement of $1.4 billion in funding for energy efficiency retrofits on affordable housing via the Green and Resilient Retrofit program, and 
• Terminated the Construction Material Opportunities to Reduce Emissions (C-MORE) program that funded research into reducing carbon emissions in construction materials.

And on March 24, the Department of Energy announced it is postponing the implementation of three rules that established energy efficiency standards for: central air conditioners and heat pumps; walk-in coolers and freezers; and gas instantaneous water heaters.

EO 14238 “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy”

This executive order calls for drastically reducing or eliminating agencies including the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). The CDFI Fund provides capital for local banks and credit unions to finance housing and commercial development in lower-income communities.

• Although the administration is not directly altering the CDFI Fund’s operations, an order to cut staff and agency functions to the “minimum presence and function required by law” could reduce the agency’s ability to perform its functions and disburse funding to time-sensitive projects, potentially delaying or stopping development, according to CDFI experts. 

EO 14168 “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”

This executive order denies the existence of trans people and could affect their ability to access housing services. For example: 

• According to Shelterforce, “On Feb. 7, newly confirmed HUD Secretary Scott Turner followed this up by saying he would stop enforcement of a 2016 rule that ensures housing and shelter providers serve clients on the basis of their gender identity.”

Other actions impacting housing

• The Department of the Interior and HUD announced a proposal to build housing on federally owned public lands to address the housing crisis. This would be particularly impactful in Western states like Nevada, where roughly 80 percent of the state’s land is federally owned. The departments call the initiative the “Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing.”
• HUD announced in a March 6 letter that it will not renew funding for the Emergency Housing Voucher program, which funds rental assistance for extremely low-income Americans in dire circumstances, such as people experiencing homelessness, living in shelters, or on the verge of eviction. 

Land Use, Energy, and Climate

Some executive orders realign U.S. energy policy to deprioritize renewable energy and encourage the domestic production of fossil fuel energy, minerals, and timber. These orders seek to reduce protections for federal lands and curtail the EPA’s power to regulate pollutants, particularly greenhouse gas emissions. The orders could result in worse air quality in cities, less access to heat-reducing green space and parks both within and outside of urban areas, and further damage to communities already disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution from fossil fuel drilling and processing facilities. Discouraging renewable energy could drive up fossil fuel-based energy use and climate-warming emissions and accelerate the displacement of communities in flood- and fire-prone areas.

EO 14154 “Unleashing American Energy,” EO 14213 “Establishing the National Energy Dominance Council,” EO 14225 “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production,” EO 14241 “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production”

EO 14154 calls for expedited and expanded mining and mineral extraction on public lands to “unleash America's affordable and reliable energy and natural resources.” The order states it is the policy of the United States to “establish our position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals.” Some examples of impacts include:

• The order questions the “legality and continuing applicability” of the endangerment finding, which, if reversed, would eliminate the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA relies on this ruling for many of its climate and clean air regulations, which limit air pollutants and protect public health in both urban and rural areas. On March 12, the EPA launched what it calls the “biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history,” announcing that it is “reconsidering” 31 regulations related to air pollution and air quality, indicating that they will roll back many of them to reduce guardrails on oil and gas, power plants, and other industries. 
• A White House memo titled “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects” withdraws permits for offshore wind power projects and prohibits any new or renewed onshore or offshore wind power projects pending a review of federal practices.

Other impacts on land use, energy, and climate

• The U.S. Forest Service fired thousands of employees, cuts that could hinder fire prevention efforts in wildland-urban interface areas as well as urban forestry projects such as a USFS tree planting grant. 
• The department also laid off thousands of National Park Service employees, primarily probationary employees in their first year of service. Some have since been rehired after a judge ruled that the National Park Service (NPS) wrongly terminated them. The agency also froze hiring for seasonal workers, which most parks depend on during the busy summer tourist season to ensure safety and cleanliness for the millions of Americans who visit national parks. A February 3 Secretary’s Order requires officials to “review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands, consistent with existing law,” which could roll back designations for national monuments and other protected areas.
• Due to staff and funding cuts, the National Weather Service is reducing the number of weather balloons it launches, which could limit the accuracy of weather forecasts and reduce the likelihood that people will get timely warnings before major weather events. This could have devastating impacts on dense urban areas and communities in hurricane hazard zones that depend on accurate forecasting to issue warnings and protect local residents.