WASHINGTON (AP) White House budget director Russ Vought stated that the Trump administration will withhold $2.1 billion for Chicago infrastructure projects, intensifying funding disputes that have affected Democratic regions amid the government shutdown.
This action impacts a long-anticipated proposal to extend the city’s Red Line train. Vought posted on social media Friday that the funds were “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting.”
Earlier in the week, Vought made a similar declaration regarding New York, stating that $18 billion for infrastructure would be halted, including resources for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
President Donald Trump has supported Vought’s strategies. On Thursday night, he shared a video portraying himself as the reaper, wearing a hood and wielding a scythe.
Losing the funding would be a major hindrance to Chicago’s transportation initiatives. The Red Line extension is planned to include four train stops on the city’s South Side, enhancing access for underprivileged communities.
Moreover, a more extensive modernization project for the Red and Purple lines, which Vought mentioned was also being targeted, aims to improve stations and eliminate a congestion point where multiple lines converge.
In New York’s case, Trump’s Transportation Department said it had been reviewing whether any “unconstitutional practices” were occurring in the two massive infrastructure projects but that the government shutdown, which began Wednesday, had forced it to furlough the staffers conducting the review.
The suspension of funds is likely meant to target Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, whom the White House is blaming for the impasse. He said the funding freeze would harm commuters.
“Obstructing these projects is stupid and counterproductive because they create tens of thousands of great jobs and are essential for a strong regional and national economy,” Schumer said on X.
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This story has been corrected to show $18 billion, not $18 million, was held in New York.
