Washington — 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.”
“The department is focusing on these projects because they are arguably the largest infrastructure initiatives in the western hemisphere, and the American people want to see them completed quickly and efficiently,” DOT said. “Until USDOT’s quick administrative review is complete, project reimbursements cannot be processed, including a $300 million disbursement for the 2nd Avenue Subway.”
The department said the remaining federal funding for the projects is roughly $18 billion.
“Thanks to the Chuck Schumer and Hakeem [Jeffries] shutdown, however, USDOT’s review of New York’s unconstitutional practices will take more time. Without a budget, the department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review,” the statement said.
New York City voters also lean heavily Democratic.
In a joint statement, Jeffries and Schumer said the projects “aren’t political trophies — they are lifelines.”
“They mean tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs. They mean shorter commutes, safer travel and a stronger economy not just for New York, but for the entire nation,” the leaders said. “Choking off these projects out of spite will damage America’s competitiveness and cost working families dearly.”
Asked at the Capitol if he is being targeted, Jeffries said, “The Trump administration is targeting the jobs, thousands of jobs of hard-working Americans. Working-class Americans and blue collar Americans will lose the ability to work at the Second Avenue Subway site or at the other project that has been canceled related to the Cross-Harbor Tunnel.”
Asked about the move, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “Vote to open up the government, that issue goes away, right?”
The Senate has failed to approve House-passed legislation to keep the government funded through Nov. 21, sending the country into a government shutdown on Wednesday morning.
The Hudson Tunnel Project is a decadelong effort to build a new two-tube rail tunnel under the Hudson River and rehab the existing North River Tunnels for Amtrak and NJ Transit traffic on the Northeast Corridor, the busiest Amtrak region in the country. The Second Avenue Subway project, which is currently in its second phase, aims to extend the Q subway line into East Harlem and Harlem, as well as add new stations.
