The U.S. Department of Transportation doled out $175 million last week to the nation’s many ferry providers, and Washington state received the largest slice of the pie with nearly $40 million.

Most of the state’s funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s Ferry Boat Program went to Washington State Ferries, which got $36 million. Federal dollars also went to the King County Marine Division, which runs the popular West Seattle and Vashon foot ferries, as well as Kitsap Transit, Colville Confederated Tribes and Pierce, Whatcom and Wahkiakum counties.

Washington state’s large take shouldn’t be misconstrued as a shift in spending by the Trump administration, which has sought to upend federal grant-making. Instead, the ferry funding comes from formula grants, a primary way for the fede

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