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Trump Administration freezes an additional $11 billion infrastructure spending as part of the shutdown fight

Russell Vought, the White House Budget Director, said that due to the government shutdown the Trump Administration will freeze an additional $11 billion in infrastructure projects for Democratic states. Vought announced on social media that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would halt work on projects of "low priority" in cities like New York, San Francisco and Boston. He said that the projects may be cancelled in the future.

The White House Office of Management and Budget stated that President Donald Trump wants to "reorient the federal government's priorities for Army Corps projects."

The Trump administration already has frozen

At least $28 billion

for transportation and energy projects in Democratic-controlled cities and states, as the president pressures his opponents in Congress to end the shutdown, which began October 1.

Trump also vowed that he would cut "Democrat Agencies", and he has sought to eliminate 4,100 jobs in the federal government as a way to hurt his political opponents.

OMB reported that the Army Corps' projects include a waterfront in San Francisco, bridge extensions in Cape Cod (Massachusetts), and water and waste-water systems in New York City.

New York's projects account for 7 billion dollars of the total.

OMB also said that other affected projects include those in Illinois, Maryland and New Mexico as well as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware.

These states all voted against Trump at the 2024 presidential elections.

OMB stated that many of the projects are located in "sanctuary jurisdictions", which have been able to resist the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The Army Corps didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Reporting by Christian Martinez, David Shepardson and Andy Sullivan; editing by Cynthia Osterman and Andy Sullivan

(source: Reuters)