Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Friday said he would move to pause and potentially cancel billions of dollars’ worth of projects in cities run by Democrats, escalating his efforts to punish blue areas as the government shutdown drags on.
The $11 billion in funding, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, is slated for programs in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Baltimore, Vought said. All are Democratic-led cities in Democratic-led states.
“Because of the lapse in appropriations that provide for oversight of Army Corps projects, we believe that our office and the Corps may be unable to provide adequate oversight of all the projects currently in the portfolio, which includes projects essential to life and safety. To enable continued oversight of the most critical projects throughout the nation, we will pause and review other projects to see if we can deliver them more efficiently,” said a spokesperson for the Army Corp’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
“Once the lapse and review are over, the Administration may consider taking further actions allowable under the law that limit, cancel, or reprioritize resources in a manner that is consistent with these reviews and with the Administration’s stated priorities,” they said.
Vought too blamed the shutdown for the pause in funding.
“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,” Vought posted on X, adding that the Army Corps of Engineers would provide further information.
But the Army Corps’ shutdown contingency plan shows that the agency is mostly funded by dollars that didn’t expire with the lapse in appropriations. About 97% of the agency’s employees were not furloughed because their compensation is financed by a resource other than annual appropriations, according to the contingency plan.
The Army Corps of Engineers did not provide further information on the projects being put on hold.
A spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the governor’s office had not received any information about the projects being paused in the state. Hochul shared Vought’s post on X with a message for him: “Good luck with that, Russ. We’ll be in touch.”
It’s only the latest instance of the Trump administration using the government shutdown to punish Democratic-led areas. Earlier this month, Vought said he would cut $8 billion in funding for climate programs in 16 states led by Democrats.
Trump last week said his administration would continue to cut “popular Democrat programs” as the shutdown continued.
A White House official told NOTUS the Army Corps of Engineers project funding was separate from the permanent funding cuts Trump has discussed.
This article has been updated with comments from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and a statement from the Army Corps of Engineers.