White House Targets Democratic States In Shutdown Fight

The White House is targeting Democratic states with its first wave of cuts to federal projects following the government shutdown, impacting billions of dollars in funding for energy and infrastructure in New York, California and elsewhere.

Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said Wednesday the Trump administration is cancelling nearly $8 billion in funding for energy programs he characterized as part of “the Left’s climate agenda.”

The cuts will impact 16 states — all of which voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election. Vought did not identify exactly which programs would be cut in the social media announcement.

Earlier Wednesday, Vought said the White House is withholding $18 billion in funds from New York City’s Second Ave. subway and Gateway tunnel projects, the latter which connects New Jersey and New York.

New York-area lawmakers reacted with fury to the infrastructure cuts earlier Wednesday.

“Political revenge. Clearly outlined by Trump, time and again. He sees the U.S. as Blue and Red, and Blue states are enemies,” George Latimer (D-N.Y.), who represents the New York City suburbs in Westchester County, wrote in a text message to POLITICO. “As he has said many times, he hates his enemies; he is the retribution. Has he announced any rescission of any projects in Florida or Texas?”

Vought has not publicly announced cuts that affected a state that backed Trump in 2024.

The moves reflect Trump’s intent to undermine programs benefiting Americans in blue-leaning states, while leaders from both parties work to negotiate a government funding agreement. Trump has suggested the shutdown could offer a pretense to cut programs he doesn’t like.

“We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday ahead of the shutdown.

Top Trump allies have also indicated the strategy could serve as leverage to bring Democrats back to the negotiating table. Vice President JD Vance told reporters during Wednesday’s White House briefing that the administration is prioritizing funding for essential services and argued that programs like the New York infrastructure projects may suffer as a consequence.

“We want to do everything that we can to help the American people but when the Democrats shut down the government, we have to actually do a little triage to make sure the most critical and most essential services are provided,” Vance said.

When asked for comment on the cuts targeting blue-leaning states, a White House spokesperson pointed to press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s comments during Wednesday’s briefing.

“There are unfortunate consequences to a government shutdown, and the federal government is not receiving any cash at the moment,” Leavitt said. “The Office of Management and Budget has been tasked with looking over the receipts and looking over the budget of the entire federal bureaucracy.”