The Trump administration is “pausing” more than $11 billion in water infrastructure projects to 12 Democrat-controlled states, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said Friday.
The Army Corps of Engineers projects in California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Oregon, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware and Colorado are now “under review,” according to the Office of Management and Budget. About $7 billion of the funds were set to go to New York.
The administration is considering canceling the projects because of Democrats’ alleged role in the government shutdown, which has “drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to manage billions of dollars in projects,” Vought wrote on X. It’s the latest in a slew of federal funding threats and cuts from the White House targeting states that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris since the shutdown began.
Vought said more information would be coming from the Army Corps. But the agency did not provide details, citing a Defense Department media policy.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently following Department of War media guidance, and we are unable to respond to queries during the lapse in appropriations as it does not relate to life, health, safety or national security,” Army Corps Spokesperson Doug Garman said in an email. “Further information can be made available after the lapse in appropriations ends.”
An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson also did not provide a full list of projects affected and did not respond to a question about what the new review of the projects would entail.
One project would restore aquatic habitat for salmon and steelhead trout in California, while another involves the construction of wastewater treatment and water supply systems in Queens, New York, the spokesperson said. The Trump administration, they continued, wants to “reorient how the federal government prioritizes Army Corps projects.”
“The Army Corps shouldn’t be funding bike lanes in Cape Cod, billion-dollar fish ladders, and municipal sewage systems,” they said in an email. “Several notable projects under review are New York Harbor, Port of Long Beach, Baltimore Harbor, and projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
The OMB spokesperson also accused the states affected of being “sanctuary” communities, a term used for state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The Army Corps of Engineers carries out projects at the direction of Congress, typically through Water Resource Development Acts enacted every two years. The agency’s varied mission includes flood control, river navigation, ecosystem restoration and hydropower dam management.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, slammed Vought’s actions in a post on X on Friday.
“An administration run by crooks and cowards is ONCE AGAIN illegally and punitively blocking funds for JUST blue states,” Murray wrote. “I’m not intimidated by miserable thugs like Russ Vought, and you shouldn’t be either.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), ranking member on the Environment and Public Works Committee, did not immediately provide comments on the situation. Neither did Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the committee, which has jurisdiction over the Army Corps.
Representatives for Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
