Debora Allen, an outgoing Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) director, handed her fellow board members a politically charged memento: "Make America Great Again" hats. During the meeting on Thursday, Allen, whose term came to a close, presented the hats to her colleagues alongside a letter for each. This move marked a provocative farewell gesture that cut through the routine procedure of the meeting.

According to a KTVU report, Allen chose the MAGA hats as gifts because they might be useful to her "San Francisco Democrat politicians" colleagues if a ballot initiative to fund BART fell through in 2026. The transit system, she warned, could face a significant deficit exceeding $350 million annually. "We're spending 34% more today than we did in fiscal year 2019, and we are operating a system with less than 50% of the ridership we carried in 2019," Allen said.

The handing over of the hats was characterized by an awkward moment when Board President Bevan Duffy lost his train of thought, as mentioned in the KTVU report. The San Francisco Chronicle described the scene where other directors responded with disbelief and dismissiveness. "Jesus Christ," someone was heard muttering as Allen showcased a MAGA hat.

In a statement obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Allen remarked that the gift carried a dual message: a joke and a pointer to the need for bipartisan engagement in securing federal funds for Bay Area transit. Once a registered Republican, Allen now identifies with no party, though she has often stirred controversy by bucking the board's liberal consensus on fiscal and social matters. Her decision to bring MAGA hats to the board seemed in keeping with her habit of igniting debate.

Allen's actions reverberated around the BART boardroom, which was filled with various community groups discussing initiatives, including BART station name changes to honor local histories and cultural contributions. Janice Li, a fellow board member, characterized Allen's hat distribution as overtly inflammatory and reflective of Allen's often isolated and contentious tenure. "It was saying the quiet part out loud," Li told the San Francisco Chronicle. After the display, Duffy recalibrated his composure by reaching for fellow board member Lateefah Simon's hand, admitting, "I just needed to center myself."