The Trump administration has paused $11 billion in infrastructure projects across a dozen mostly Democratic-led states—such as New York, California, and Illinois—amid the ongoing Schumer Shutdown.
White House budget director Russ Vought announced the move on X, pointing a finger at the ongoing federal government closure as having depleted the ability of the Army Corps of Engineers to manage the projects.
Furthermore, Vought suggested the projects might get the ax altogether.
"The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers' ability to manage billions of dollars in projects," he announced. "The Corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects & considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore."
The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers' ability to manage billions of dollars in projects. The Corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects & considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco,…
— Russ Vought (@russvought) October 17, 2025
READ MORE: Surprising No One, Federal Judge Blocks Trump Admin's RIF Layoffs During Shutdown
Politico reports that there are currently 12 states on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) target list, of which Democratic governors lead 11.
The lone exception is New Hampshire, whose Republican governor, Kelly Ayotte, has thus far refused President Trump's calls for redistricting in her state.
The majority of the cities listed in Vought's post are also rabid pro-illegal immigrant sanctuary cities.
A spokesperson for the OMB justified the cessation of such projects to the outlet, stating that “taxpayer dollars should not be subsidizing infrastructure in states led by governors ignoring federal law.”
Democratic Senators who represent these places are directly causing this to happen with their government shutdown filibuster. https://t.co/cDSyzzeO0c
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 17, 2025
It's not as if these blue states/cities didn't have ample warning. Trump on Tuesday said cuts to "programs that are Democrat programs" would be coming by week's end. And if the Schumer-led Democrats didn't get their act together, the cuts would be permanent.
“And they’re never going to come back in many cases,” the President said of “the most egregious, socialist, semi communist, probably not full communist” programs.
Since that warning, Democrats have voted twice more to keep the government shutdown going, as well as rejecting an effort to advance an individual year-long appropriations bill to fund the Pentagon.
A recent poll shows Americans are starting to shift blame for the gridlock in D.C. to Democrats in Congress.
Vought's bold move to make Democrat-run states feel a bit of the pain comes as the Schumer Shutdown heads into a third week. And there are very few signs of compromise on the horizon.
Still, you can go ahead and start the countdown clock on how long it takes a federal judge to step in and block these programs from being slashed.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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