The Trump administration froze around $18 billion in infrastructure projects for New York City on Wednesday, citing “unconstitutional” diversity, equity, and inclusion “principles.”
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced the move on Wednesday, adding that the billions of dollars in now-frozen funding were earmarked for the Hudson Tunnel and the Second Avenue Subway.
“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,” Vought wrote on X. “More info to come soon from [the U.S. Department of Transportation].”
The Hudson Tunnel project seeks to build a new passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River and fix the existing North River Tunnels for Amtrak and NJ Transit traffic, CBS News reported. The project focusing on the Second Avenue Subway aims to extend the Q line into Harlem and add new stations.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has made the Hudson Tunnel project a top priority in recent years, securing billions of dollars in federal funding for what he called “the nation’s largest public works project.” Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who represents parts of Brooklyn, have spearheaded Democratic resistance to Trump’s government funding proposal.
Jeffries told Vought to “get lost.”
“Again with this guy (and his baseless threats),” Jeffries said. “Russ, you are the poster child for privilege and mediocrity. Get lost.”
Schumer and Jeffries are getting ripped by the Trump administration after their party refused to agree to a deal with Republicans to keep the government funded.
The Trump administration’s decision to hold funding also comes shortly after the president threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City if socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the mayoral election in November. Mamdani is currently leading by a significant margin in the polls.
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“He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him? This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed!”
The administration’s freeze, however, does not appear to be tied to the mayor’s race, and it remains unclear which “DEI principles” the White House is concerned about.
New York Democratic leaders have been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration this week. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday over allegations that the state is handing out commercial driver licenses (CDLs) to illegal immigrants with no name given on the CDL.
“Kathy Hochul continues her campaign to make New York one of the most lawless states in the country. … ALL illegally issued CDLs endanger American families on the road. My recent emergency action to restrict CDLs will work to counteract these disastrous, America-Last policies,” Duffy wrote on X.
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