On October 1, Trump ceased $18 billion worth of funding for the country’s two biggest infrastructure projects, which were being constructed in New York City. $8 billion in green energy projects in sixteen states, including California and Illinois, was also unilaterally frozen.
The government shutdown was used as a pretext for the legally questionable suspension of funds.
The two projects — the expansion of the Second Avenue subway line and new commuter rail tunnels under the Hudson River — have been in the works for years and are aimed at alleviating bottlenecks and improving travel for millions of people and daily commuters in New York City and beyond.
The New York Times
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, without evidence or elaboration, accused New York State of “discriminatory, unconstitutional contracting processes,” as they related to alleged hiring based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The chief of policy and external relations of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, John J. McCarthy, accused the White House of finding “excuses to delay one of the most important infrastructure projects in America.”
This incident exposes Duffy as a liar. In a May Senate hearing, he informed New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that he would continue funding for the two infrastructure projects. The issue of alleged DEI hiring did not arise.
On July 24, 2026, The New York Times obtained access to court documents that proved that 284 energy grants to states that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 Presidential election were terminated for the sake of political retribution.
“With one exception,” a lawyer for the Energy Department conceded in a court filing this month, “the 284 terminated grants had a recipient location and/or at least one place of performance in a state that awarded its electoral votes to Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has two Democratic-caucusing senators.”
The lawyer acknowledged that none of the grants were included in the October terminations “based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction or performance-based factor.”
The New York Times
