Who: President Donald J. Trump; When: early months of his second term and into September 2025; Where: multiple U.S. infrastructure sites including Connecticut and Maryland; What: signs bearing Mr. Trump’s name have been placed at projects financed by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; Result: the postings have prompted debate over credit, grant signage rules and federal oversight while the underlying projects continue construction.
Key Takeaways
- Signs saying “President Donald J. Trump” have appeared at several major projects funded by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
- Projects include a $1.3 billion bridge replacement in Connecticut and a $2.7 billion Susquehanna River Bridge project in Maryland.
- The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided the funding even though Mr. Trump opposed the 2021 bill.
- The Federal Railroad Administration removed a requirement that projects be labeled as funded by President Biden’s law; some agencies subsequently changed signage.
- Officials say Amtrak is voluntarily updating signs; critics call the practice misleading and have raised Hatch Act and credit concerns.
Verified Facts
The Connecticut project replaces a 118-year-old bridge on a busy rail corridor; the federal share from the 2021 law helped fund a roughly $1.3 billion replacement. The existing span was deemed structurally deficient in 2006; engineers say the new bridge will allow trains to travel at about 70 mph instead of the current 45 mph, and construction is expected to create up to 300 jobs.
Other projects displaying signs include rail-yard upgrades in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia and the replacement of an Amtrak tunnel between Baltimore and Washington. Amtrak press materials show construction on some of these began during the Biden administration.
| Project | Location | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut river bridge replacement | Old Lyme / Old Saybrook, CT | $1.3 billion |
| Susquehanna River Bridge replacement | Havre de Grace, MD | $2.7 billion |
| Various rail-yard improvements | Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia | Portion of 2021 funds |
Federal guidance changed in April when the Federal Railroad Administration removed language that had required grant agreements to state projects were “funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.” Agencies including state transportation departments interpreted that change as a signal to replace or update existing signage.
Amtrak has said the new signs are an internal, voluntary update to replace outdated displays and acknowledged the projects were funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Amtrak spokesman
Context & Impact
The 2021 law is a roughly $1.2 trillion package that allocated federal money for roads, bridges, rail and other projects nationwide. Its size has intensified political battles over who receives public credit for visible projects in districts across party lines.
In 2024, Senator Ted Cruz filed a Hatch Act complaint about signage that credited President Biden; the Office of Special Counsel reviewed and closed that inquiry. Questions now center on whether similarly styled signs naming President Trump raise new legal or ethical concerns. The special counsel has previously ruled on political signage by federal grantees, but no new formal ruling about the Trump-labeled signs has been announced.
For agencies and recipients, signage can affect local perceptions of who supported or enabled funding. Some lawmakers and local officials say removing or replacing credit lines erases the legislative history that allowed projects to proceed; others argue updating signs is routine when administrations change.
Official Statements
“Amtrak is updating outdated signage at project locations following the change in presidential administrations,” an Amtrak spokesperson said, adding that the projects remain identified as funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Amtrak / Department statements
Unconfirmed
- Whether signs were posted on Amtrak sites explicitly to curry favor with the current administration remains unproven; some lawmakers have suggested it but no directive has been published.
- Any formal Hatch Act complaint specifically targeting the Trump-labeled signs has not been publicly filed or adjudicated as of this writing.
Bottom Line
Major infrastructure projects financed by the 2021 law are advancing, but credit for those investments has become politically charged. Changes in federal grant language and voluntary updates by agencies like Amtrak have left visible traces—signs with President Trump’s name—that spotlight tensions between administrative practice, legal limits on political activity and public understanding of who funded the work.
Expect continued scrutiny of signage and acknowledgments as projects reach completion and as lawmakers press agencies for clarity on crediting and grant conditions.