Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, took to the Senate floor this morning to block a unanimous consent request to approve the nomination of Sean McMaster to serve as Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. Whitehouse had previously supported McMaster’s nomination at the committee level, but withdrew his support in response to a Department of Transportation order to terminate $11.25 million in federal funding for Rhode Island’s Port of Davisville.
“I voted for Mr. McMaster in the EPW Committee; indeed, I pushed for his inclusion in a bipartisan nominations package before the Senate left town for the August recess. Unfortunately, last Friday, Secretary Duffy announced — without any prior warning or explanation— that he was terminating an $11.25 million grant to Rhode Island’s Port of Davisville. These upgrades would have improved and modernized the port, created more well-paying union jobs, improved security, expanded capacity for growth, and spurred future investments,” said Whitehouse. “This bad faith decision was a punch in the face to Rhode Island’s premier port, and I cannot support McMaster’s nomination until this funding is restored.”
The decision to terminate the funding for Davisville wasannounced by the U.S. Department of Transportation late last Friday as part of a $679 million termination and withdrawal of funding to support offshore wind-related ports and manufacturing facilities. The Port of Davisville is a key part of the Quonset Business Park, which hosts more than 200 companies and 12,900 jobs. This project was being funded through DOT’s Port Infrastructure Development Program to rehabilitate the North Berth at Pier 1 to support more efficient use of the facility.
In late August, the Trump Administration issued a stop-work order halting construction on the Revolution Wind project. The project is 80 percent complete: all foundations are in place and 45 of 65 turbines have been installed. Once completed, Revolution Wind will power 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut with reliable, affordable, union-built energy. The project has employed more than 1,000 local union workers and completed more than 2 million union work hours. The project underpins nearly $1.3 billion in state investment, new shipbuilding jobs, and critical upgrades to Rhode Island’s ports, shipyards, and supply chain.
Video of Senator Whitehouse’s floor remarks is availablehere.
