When the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26, 2024, it wasn’t just Baltimore that shook. America’s supply chains rattled. Six lives were lost, the Port of Baltimore was crippled, and Maryland’s economy—13% of which flows through that port—was thrown into chaos. Congress rightly stepped in on a bipartisan basis to commit federal dollars for a full rebuild, projected at $1.8 billion and scheduled for completion in 2028.
But nearly 18 months later, the bridge’s future is already tangled in politics, red tape, and the same social-engineering experiments that have turned so many public works projects into bloated fiascos.
Federal Oversight—and a Warning
On September 19, 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent Governor Wes Moore a pointed letter that should make every taxpayer sit up straight. While praising Maryland for clearing port debris faster than expected, Duffy raised two glaring red flags:
- Escalating Costs and Delays: Maryland’s $1.8 billion estimate is already being whispered as a lowball. Similar megaprojects routinely double in cost once DEI quotas, union carve-outs, and “consultant studies” are piled on. Duffy asked how Maryland plans to hit its promised timeline and budget—a question Moore has so far dodged.
- Unconstitutional DEI Contracting: Maryland’s transportation authority set a 31.5% “disadvantaged business” participation goal for the project, meaning nearly one-third of the work must be awarded based on race or gender. Duffy reminded Moore that federal law prohibits race- and sex-based contracting preferences and that the Trump administration is challenging these very rules in court.
In blunt terms, Duffy told Maryland: stop playing racial politics with federal money. Build the bridge on merit, not quotas.
DEI: Building Bridges or Burning Cash?
Proponents of DEI-based contracting insist it levels the playing field for minority- and women-owned firms historically excluded from construction markets. But critics—and the courts—see something else: unconstitutional discrimination.
Maryland’s 31.5% quota has already skewed the bidding process. One competitor for the prime contract was disqualified in part for not checking the right DEI boxes. That’s not meritocracy—that’s politics.
Worse, decades of experience show these programs inflate costs while enriching a small circle of politically connected firms. Shell companies with little capacity grab contracts, then subcontract the actual work back to larger firms, pocketing a taxpayer-funded margin. Subcontractors get squeezed, deadlines slip, and the only thing guaranteed is higher invoices.
Voices from the Field
This isn’t just theory or legal argument—it’s what contractors on the ground are saying.
On a recent Facebook discussion about government contracts, one small business owner wrote:
“Minority owned companies get guaranteed work on projects so they inflate their costs severely because they are required to be hired. Then after receiving said project… some (not all) minority owned companies shop around to small businesses like myself to subcontract us the work they received a huge contract on. They then pay us much less to complete the project and make a huge profit for being a minority owned business. Some of these minority owned contractor businesses don’t even have anything but office personnel to play this shell game with taxpayer funds.” — Mike Bayne, contractor
Another commenter chimed in: “100% accurate.”
This is exactly what Duffy’s letter warned about: DEI quotas creating perverse incentives where insiders profit while taxpayers lose and small businesses get underpaid.
A Pattern of Abuse
The concerns voiced by Duffy—and echoed by contractors—are not isolated. Similar abuses have been exposed across the country:
| City/Agency | What Happened | Impact on Taxpayers |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA | Minority-contracting program riddled with fraud; shell companies posing as DBEs funneled contracts back to large firms. | Inflated costs, delays, and federal investigations. |
| Chicago, IL | City contractors set up “front” DBE firms that subcontracted nearly all work to non-minority partners. | Millions wasted; minority participation overstated. |
| Philadelphia, PA | Recreation projects saw minority-owned firms act as pass-throughs while actual work went elsewhere. | Increased costs with little benefit to true minority businesses. |
| FEMA / Hurricane Katrina | Black-owned firms received less than 0.02% of disaster recovery contracts; politically connected “DBEs” acted as middlemen. | Billions diverted; intended communities left out. |
| Massachusetts | Subcontractors reported 60–90 day delays in payments, squeezing small firms while primes profited. | Minority firms lost $135M annually in value (adjusted). |
The pattern is clear: DEI contracting often enriches the few while disadvantaging both taxpayers and the very small businesses it was supposed to help.
The Stakes
This isn’t just about one bridge. If Maryland digs in on DEI contracting, the entire project could be mired in lawsuits, stalled funding, and finger-pointing. Every month of delay hurts truckers, exporters, and dockworkers nationwide who depend on the Port of Baltimore.
It’s also a referendum on whether America’s infrastructure will be built on skill and efficiency—or hijacked by social experiments that courts are increasingly striking down. The Supreme Court has already gutted affirmative action in college admissions. Federal courts are now circling the DBE program.
Moore’s Response: Spin, Not Substance
Governor Moore brushed off Duffy’s concerns, boasting about fast debris removal and promising vague cooperation with the Trump administration. Notice what he didn’t do: answer how Maryland will stay within budget or whether it will drop unconstitutional contracting quotas.
Maryland’s congressional Democrats doubled down, defending the project as a “national priority” and pretending the DEI issue doesn’t exist. That’s politics as usual—protect the narrative, ignore the law, and send taxpayers the bill.
A National Test Case
The Key Bridge rebuild is shaping up to be more than an engineering project. It’s a stress test of whether America still believes in equal protection under the law—or whether bureaucrats can play identity politics with $1.8 billion of federal money.
If Secretary Duffy holds the line, the Key Bridge could become a model of cost-effective, merit-based rebuilding. If Governor Moore and Maryland Democrats get their way, it risks becoming yet another monument to DEI excess: late, over budget, and constitutionally suspect.
For the sake of taxpayers—and the truckers waiting in line at the Port of Baltimore—let’s hope merit wins.
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