Washington, D.C.:
The Trump administration has intensified its stand-off with Democrats over the United States government shutdown by announcing plans to terminate dozens of clean energy projects and freeze billions of dollars slated for major infrastructure projects in New York. US media outlets described these moves as a clear effort to pressure Democrats in Congress to yield to an agreement to end the shutdown.
US President Donald Trump had threatened mass firings and government department cuts even before the shutdown began on Tuesday, blaming Democrats for the funding impasse.
The Clean Energy Cuts
On Thursday, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced “the termination of 321 financial awards supporting 223 projects, resulting in a savings of approximately $7.56 billion for American taxpayers.”
The DOE stated that these projects—overseen by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and other bodies—”did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs… and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.”
However, recipients have 30 days to appeal the termination decision, and some have already begun the process.
Russell Vought, who heads the Office of Management and Budget, took to social media platform X to label the slashed projects “Green New Scam funding” used to advance “the Left’s climate agenda.” He listed the states affected by the decision, noting that they include California, New York, and 14 other “blue states” that Trump failed to win in the 2024 presidential elections.
California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed the administration’s decision to cancel “up to $1.2 billion” slated for a major hydrogen energy project, jeopardizing tens of thousands of jobs. Newsom slammed the policy as one where “energy policy is set by the highest bidder, economics and common sense be damned,” vowing to continue the state’s clean energy strategy regardless of DC mandates.
Freezing New York Infrastructure Funds
In New York—the home state of top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries—the Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced on Wednesday it was freezing nearly $18 billion in federal funding for two major infrastructure projects: the Second Avenue subway and the Hudson Tunnel.
The USDOT framed the move as an attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, stating that subsidizing projects with “race- and sex-based contracting requirements… is unconstitutional, counter to civil rights laws, and a waste of taxpayer resources.”
The funds will be frozen until a “quick administrative review is complete,” USDOT said. However, the department blamed Democrats for the delay, stating that “Thanks to the Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries shutdown… USDOT’s review of New York’s unconstitutional practices will take more time,” because the civil rights staff responsible for the review had been furloughed.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, condemned the halt as “political payback and an attack on New York,” asserting that “Donald Trump has been clear: he is intent on using his reckless government shutdown to hurt the American people.”
