Following the transition to the second Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has seen a change in leadership with the appointment of Sean Duffy as Secretary. Barbara McCann, a long-time road safety policy expert who retired from the department in early 2025, has publicly raised alarms regarding the status of federal safety initiatives. According to McCann, several safety policies previously available through the Federal Highway Administration have been removed from public view.

McCann’s concerns center on the new administration’s approach to infrastructure, specifically regarding pedestrian safety and bicycle lanes. She alleges that the current leadership has shown a lack of interest in prioritizing these areas, which she argues could lead to an increase in road fatalities. The critique highlights a broader ideological divide regarding how federal transportation funds should be allocated and what constitutes effective road design. While the administration has not issued a detailed rebuttal to these specific claims, supporters of the current leadership often characterize previous safety mandates as unnecessary bureaucratic overreach or 'woke' policy-making that prioritizes social agendas over traditional vehicle traffic flow. The situation remains a point of tension between career safety advocates and the new political appointees tasked with overseeing national transportation strategy.