In a letter to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy expressed concerns over the projected $1.8 billion replacement cost of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
He also voiced concerns over “whether Maryland intends to award contracts” for the bridge replacement “in a manner that relies on the race or sex of contractors.”
Any reliance on factors including race or sex when determining how to award contracts, wrote Duffy, “could introduce significant legal vulnerabilities and inefficiencies” in managing the project. Duffy said DOT has asked a federal court to declare the “presumption” of disadvantage based on race or sex be declared unconstitutional.
In his response to the letter, Moore issued a statement focusing on Maryland’s ongoing efforts to replace the Key Bridge, writing “we have worked expeditiously to promote full restoration of the bridge as a critical asset to our nation’s economy.”
“We will continue to work with the Trump Administration to find ways to reduce costs and rebuild faster,” Moore wrote.
The governor also stated that replacing the bridge is important not only to Baltimore and Maryland, but to the rest of the country. Noting that 13% of the state’s economy is tied to operations at the Port of Baltimore, he wrote, “the goods that flow through the Port don’t just touch Marylanders — they reach the farmer in Kentucky, the auto worker in Michigan and the restaurant owner in Tennessee.”
The exchange comes following sparring between President Donald Trump and Moore over crime in Baltimore. At one point, Trump wrote on social media, “I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge,” and continued that he might “have to rethink that decision???”
Members of Maryland’s Congressional delegation — including senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks — issued a statement following the release of Duffy’s letter noting that after the Key Bridge collapse, “The federal government’s commitment to fund the rebuild is enacted into law,” and called delivering on the bridge replacement a “national priority.”
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