Russ Vought, Director of the US Workplace of Administration and Price range (OMB), speaks on the Nationwide Conservative Conference in Washington D.C., Sept. 3, 2025.
Dominic Gwinn | Afp | Getty Photographs
The Trump administration on Friday froze $2.1 billion in Division of Transportation funding for 2 tasks to enhance Chicago’s transit system.
The DOT in a press release blamed Congress’ two Democratic leaders — Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries — for the federal authorities shutdown, which the division claimed would sluggish a overview of the Chicago tasks to make sure they don’t contain “unconstitutional practices” associated to the race or gender of building staff.
That assertion echoed a Trump administration speaking level that Democrats in Congress are refusing to vote for a short-term funding settlement that might reopen the federal government as a result of they insist on offering health-care advantages for “unlawful immigrants.”
Democrats name that declare a lie designed to distract from their aim of constant the supply of enhanced Reasonably priced Care Act medical health insurance plan subsidies to greater than 20 million People.
“At a time when federal brokers are sowing chaos in Chicago, the Trump administration is holding bipartisan funding hostage,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker stated in a social media submit on X after the DOT’s announcement.
“It is making an attempt to attain political factors however is as an alternative hurting our financial system and the hardworking individuals who depend on public transit to get to work or faculty,” wrote Pritzker, who, like Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, is a Democrat.
Workplace of Administration and Price range Director Russell Vought first introduced the freeze on the Chicago tasks on Friday morning.
It was the third time in current days that he revealed funding actions by the Trump administration concentrating on cities and states led by Democrats.
President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have blamed Democrats in Congress for the shutdown, which hit its third day on Friday.
Trump stated on Thursday that the shutdown had given him an “unprecedented alternative” to chop what he referred to as “Democrat Companies.”
Vought on Wednesday revealed that the Division of Transportation was freezing $18 billion in federal funding for 2 main infrastructure tasks in New York Metropolis. Each Schumer and Jeffries are from New York Metropolis.
Later that very same day, Vought stated that the Division of Power had cancelled practically $8 billion in funding for climate-related tasks and different efforts in 16 states, all of which have been gained by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris within the 2024 election.
On Friday, Vought, in a submit on X, wrote, “$2.1 billion in Chicago infrastructure tasks — particularly the Crimson Line Extension and the Crimson and Purple Modernization Challenge — have been placed on maintain to make sure funding isn’t flowing through race-based contracting.”
A rider heads towards the steps to board a Crimson Line practice on the CTA Grand station on Dec. 19, 2023, in Chicago.
Eileen T. Meslar | Chicago Tribune | Tribune Information Service | Getty Photographs
Each tasks are overseen by the Chicago Transit Authority, which operates town’s practice and bus system.
The Crimson Line Extension undertaking will lengthen that practice line by 5.5 miles with 4 new stations between the present terminal at ninety fifth/Dan Ryan to a hundred and thirtieth Avenue. The Crimson and Purple Modernization Challenge is reconstructing infrastructure alongside these shade practice traces.
The U.S. DOT later Friday stated, “This week, USDOT issued an interim last rule (IFR) barring race- and sex-based contracting necessities from federal grants.”
“To proceed implementation of this rule, USDOT at this time despatched letters to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to tell them that” the 2 CTA tasks “are additionally beneath administrative overview to find out whether or not any unconstitutional practices are occurring,” the DOT stated.
The DOT in its assertion stated the freeze on the Chicago cash “is along with critiques of New York’s Second Avenue Subway and Hudson Tunnel tasks,” the division stated. “Illinois, like New York, is well-known to promote race- and sex-based contracting and different racial preferences as a public coverage.”
The DOT additionally stated that People “do not care what race or gender building staff, pipefitters, or electricians are. They only need these large tasks lastly constructed shortly and effectively.”
“Sadly, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries’ resolution to close down the federal government has negatively affected the Division’s staffing sources for finishing up this vital evaluation,” the division stated.
“We urge Democrats in Congress to cease holding the federal authorities’s price range hostage so USDOT can get again to the vital work of the American individuals,” the DOT stated.
“Advantages for unlawful immigrants are usually not value potential impacts to vital investments in our nation’s transportation infrastructure,” the division stated.