In Reply to: Trump defunds the police posted by mh on October 01, 2025 at 13:58:10
The Trump administration said Wednesday it is freezing roughly $18 billion in federal funding for a pair of New York City infrastructure projects, targeting the home state of both Democratic congressional leaders on the first day of the government shutdown.
Russ Vought, head of the White House Office of Management and Budget, announced the freeze in a post on X, saying funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project and Second Avenue Subway would be halted pending a review that will be delayed due to furloughs during the funding lapse.
New York is home to both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the Department of Transportation linked the leaders to the project freeze in its announcement.
Vought said the federal money for the two projects will be "put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles." DEI refers to "diversity, equity and inclusion" policies, which have been top targets of the Trump administration.
In a statement, the Transportation Department said the infrastructure projects are "under administrative review to determine whether any unconstitutional practices are occurring." Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the statement said, believes "subsidizing infrastructure contracts with taxpayer dollars based on discriminatory principles is unconstitutional, counter to civil rights laws, and a waste of taxpayer resources."