US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities, Reuters reported.The targeted programmes included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress’s top two Democrats, and $8 billion for green-energy projects in 16 Democratic-run states, including California and Illinois.In a post on X, Vought wrote: “Roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.”DEI refers to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which have come under scrutiny by the Trump administration.The funding freeze affects major infrastructure projects such as the Gateway project, a $16 billion effort to build a second rail tunnel under the Hudson River, and the Second Avenue Subway expansion along Manhattan’s East Side. The Hudson River tunnel, long delayed, is designed to ease congestion on the century-old tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, which carries hundreds of thousands of passengers daily and is crucial for East Coast travel between Boston and Washington. The Trump administration blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York City, for the shutdown. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance signaled that the administration could expand its freeze on federal employees if the shutdown continues for several days.The moves made clear that Trump would carry out his threat to take advantage of the shutdown to punish his political opponents and extend his control over the $7 trillion federal budget, established by the U.S. Constitution as the domain of Congress.
