The Trump administration has frozen $26 billion in funding allocated to Democratic-leaning states, escalating tensions as the U.S. government shutdown drags on with no resolution in sight.
The freeze includes $18 billion earmarked for transit projects in New York, home to top Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, and another $8 billion for green energy initiatives across 16 Democratic-led states, including California and Illinois. The move underscores President Donald Trump’s willingness to use the shutdown as leverage against political rivals while tightening his grip on federal spending.
Vice President JD Vance warned that the administration may expand its planned federal workforce cuts if the shutdown persists, adding to the 300,000 layoffs already expected by December. “Billions of dollars can be saved,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, signaling he will not back down.
The shutdown—the nation’s 15th since 1981—has forced 750,000 federal workers to either stay home without pay or continue working without compensation. Vital services, from environmental cleanups to scientific research, have stalled. The Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed that burials at national cemeteries will continue, but without headstones or groundskeeping.
Democrats have accused Trump of weaponizing the shutdown. Schumer charged that the president was “using the American people as pawns, threatening pain on the country as blackmail.” Jeffries warned that freezing infrastructure funds would devastate jobs tied to major projects in New York.
Even some Republicans expressed concern. Senator Thom Tillis cautioned that halting infrastructure money could “create a toxic environment” and complicate negotiations. But Senate Republican Leader John Thune dismissed the criticism, saying, “Vote to open up the government and that issue goes away.”
Despite multiple attempts, the Senate has failed to pass a funding bill. A Republican measure to keep the government running through November 21 and a Democratic proposal that tied funding to expanded health benefits both failed on the Senate floor.
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber but still need at least seven Democratic votes to meet the 60-vote threshold for passing spending bills. At stake is $1.7 trillion in agency operations—roughly one-quarter of the federal budget—while much of the rest is locked into health and retirement programs and interest on the growing $37.5 trillion debt.
Democrats are also pushing for safeguards to stop Trump from bypassing spending laws once enacted, accusing him of repeatedly ignoring them since his return to office. Both sides continue to blame each other as they attempt to shape public opinion ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The standoff has drawn comparisons to the record 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term in 2018–2019. Then, as now, it was the ripple effects on daily life—like flight delays—that ultimately forced a compromise.
