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WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration said recently it was putting a hold on roughly $18 billion to fund a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey and the city\u2019s expanded Second Avenue subway project because of the government shutdown.<\/p>\n
The White House budget director, Russ Vought, said on a post on X the step was taken due to the Republican administration\u2019s belief that the money was \u201cbased on unconstitutional DEI principles,\u201d a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n
But an administration official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity to discuss the hold, said the government shutdown that started at midnight meant that the Transportation Department employees responsible for reimbursing workers on the projects had been furloughed, so the money was being withheld.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the U.S. Transportation Department confirmed the furloughs, saying, \u201cWithout a budget, the Department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is another unfortunate casualty of radical Democrats\u2019 reckless decision to hold the federal government hostage to give illegal immigrants benefits,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n
The suspension of funds is likely meant to target Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, whom the White House is blaming for the shutdown.<\/p>\n
In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Schumer said he and then-President Joe Biden were both \u201cgiddy\u201d over the rail tunnel project, adding that it was all they talked about in the presidential limousine as they rode to the site.<\/p>\n
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, reacting to the development at a news conference about the federal government shutdown, told reporters, \u201cThe bad news just keeps coming,\u201d adding that \u201cthey\u2019re trying to make culture wars be the reason why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what a partnership with Washington looks like as we\u2019re standing here. We\u2019ve done our part. We\u2019re ready to build. It\u2019s underway,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd now we realize that they\u2019ve decided to put their own interpretation of proper culture ahead of our needs, the needs of a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hudson River rail tunnel is a long-delayed project whose path toward construction has been full of political and funding switchbacks. It\u2019s intended to ease the strain on a 110-year-old tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey. Hundreds of Amtrak and commuter trains carry hundreds of thousands of passengers per day through the tunnel, and delays can ripple up and down the East Coast between Boston and Washington<\/p>\n
The Second Avenue subway was first envisioned in the 1920s. The subway line along Manhattan\u2019s Second Avenue was an on-again, off-again grail until the first section opened on Jan. 1, 2017. The state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority is working toward starting construction on the second phase of the line, which is to extend into East Harlem.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n