The Trump administration is freezing $11 billion in federal funds earmarked for mostly Democrat cities’ infrastructure projects as the government shutdown rolls on with no end in sight.
Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), made the announcement Friday while pinning the shutdown on Democrats, whose actions he said left him with no choice but to halt the spending.
“The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to manage billions of dollars in projects,” Vought posted to X.
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“The Corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects and considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. More information to come from the Army Corps of Engineers.”
New York will be hit hardest, with about $7 billion being frozen while other affected projects are in Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Delaware, the OMB said, according to Reuters.
The money includes $600 million for two aging, federally owned bridges spanning the Cape Cod canal in Massachusetts, which are slated for replacement and carry millions of travelers annually.
The OMB told the outlet that President Donald Trump “wants to reorient how the federal government prioritizes Army Corps projects.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul responded to Vought on X, simply writing, “Good luck with that, Russ. We’ll be in touch,” while Maryland Rep. Kweisi Mfume wrote on X that the move is “another example of the Trump Administration placing partisan politics over the welfare of the American people.”
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Meanwhile, Massachusetts leaders also pushed back, with Gov. Maura Healey saying senators had received no official notice from Washington and that the bridge replacement project remains funded and legally approved by Congress.
Vought has already targeted Big Apple funds, freezing nearly $18 billion in federal money on the first day of the shutdown for two of New York City’s biggest infrastructure projects — the Hudson Tunnel and the Second Avenue Subway.
Vought said that money was stalled “to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.”
The Trump administration has already frozen at least $28 billion in earlier rounds of infrastructure and climate-related projects. Trump has also vowed to cut what he called “Democrat agencies” and sought to eliminate 4,100 federal jobs.
The pause in funding stems from the Oct. 1 shutdown after Senate lawmakers failed to reach a spending agreement in time for the end of fiscal year 2025 — after a short-term extension of fiscal year 2025 funding, aimed at keeping the government open through Nov. 21 — passed the House mainly along party lines earlier in September.
Republicans like Vought have blamed the shutdown blame on Democrats, arguing they refused to fund the budget as an attempt to reinstate taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants through Democrat lawmakers’ continuing resolution, which would include extending the expiring Obamacare tax credits.
Democrat leadership has disputed the claims, saying that Trump and Republican lawmakers are really behind the shutdown.
Fox News’ Amanda Macias and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
