President Donald Trump’s administration has blocked $18 billion in funding for New York City infrastructure projects after hitting out at Democratic leaders from the state over the government shutdown.
The Department of Transportation paused $18 billion in funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Ave Subway on Wednesday to ensure funding is “not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles,” Russ Vought, the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, wrote on X.
These projects had been under review “to determine whether any unconstitutional practices are occurring,” the Transportation Department said in a statement. The agency went on to blame Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who are both from New York.
“Thanks to the Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jefferies [sic] shutdown, however, USDOT’s review of New York’s unconstitutional practices will take more time,” the agency said. “Without a budget, the Department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review.”
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, condemned the move in a statement on X.
“This isn’t a functioning democracy any longer when - in the middle of a high stakes funding fight - the President illegally suspends federal projects in states run by Democrats as a way to punish the political opposition,” he wrote.
The first government shutdown in seven years went into effect at midnight on Wednesday after Democrats voted down a bill to continue funding.
The White House has pinned the blame for the shutdown on “radical Left lunatics” and Democratic leaders like Schumer. Meanwhile, Schumer and Jeffries, who have argued that the funding bill must better address the “healthcare crisis,” blamed President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers.
The Independent has contacted Schumer and Jeffries for comment.
The Transportation Department’s announcement comes just days after Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City if New York State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who is leading in the polls, wins the mayor’s office this November.
“Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises,” Trump, a long-time former resident of New York, wrote Monday on Truth Social. “He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
When asked if he’s concerned about federal funding cuts from Trump, Mamdani responded that the president is “going through the stages of grief,” WABC reports.
“He began with denial, where he said that there was no way we could win this race and that he would use every tool at his disposal to ensure that that was the case," Mamdani said.
Trump has long disparaged Mamdani, previously labeling him “radical” and a “communist lunatic.” Mamdani, when asked about the “communist” label by CNN on Monday, reiterated he is a democratic socialist.
“I think it reflects the fact that, whereas those critiques, whereas that identity would have been enough for Donald Trump in the past, now he doesn’t even want to use that, because he knows that the message of my politics is one that is connecting with New Yorkers across the five boroughs,” Mamdani told CNN.
The Independent has contacted Mamdani for comment.
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