White House Paused $11 Billion in Army Corps Infrastructure Projects, Predominantly in Democratic-Led States

Details

On October 17, 2025—the 17th day of the government shutdown—White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced on X that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would immediately pause over $11 billion in "lower-priority projects" and consider them for cancellation. The named cities—New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore—are all Democratic-led cities in Democratic-led states.

The affected states included California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Oregon, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Colorado, according to Politico. New Hampshire's governor, Kelly Ayotte, a Republican who had resisted Trump administration redistricting efforts, was the sole Republican governor on the list.

Stated Rationale vs. Funding Structure

Vought blamed the shutdown, writing that it had "drained the Army Corps of Engineers' ability to manage billions of dollars in projects." The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works echoed this, stating the Corps "may be unable to provide adequate oversight of all the projects currently in the portfolio" and would "pause and review other projects to see if we can deliver them more efficiently."

However, the Army Corps' own shutdown contingency plan undermined this justification. As NOTUS reported, approximately 97% of the agency's employees were not furloughed because their compensation is financed by resources other than annual appropriations. Brendan Duke, senior director for federal budget policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, pointed out that the administration's own shutdown plan stated the Corps' projects would not be affected by the shutdown because 97% of their funding does not come from annual appropriations.

Two weeks after Vought's announcement, Roll Call reported that no finalized list of affected projects had been shared with Congress. Congressional aides from both parties described "radio silence" from the Corps and OMB, leading some staffers to question whether a list existed at the time of the announcement or whether it was a pressure tactic during shutdown negotiations.

Affected Projects

An OMB spokesperson told E&E News that notable projects under review included New York Harbor, the Port of Long Beach, Baltimore Harbor, and projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. Specific projects included:

• Approximately $7 billion in New York-based projects, including wastewater treatment and water supply systems in Queens (Reuters, via E&E News)
• The $600 million Cape Cod Bridges Program in Massachusetts, planned to replace 90-year-old Corps-owned bridges
• A San Francisco pier replacement with a waterfront park, plus 7.5 miles of planned coastal flood prevention infrastructure (Politico; ENR)
• Aquatic habitat restoration for salmon and steelhead trout in California (E&E News)

The OMB spokesperson also noted that many of the affected projects were in sanctuary cities, adding that "taxpayer dollars should not be subsidizing infrastructure in states led by governors ignoring federal law" (Politico).

Pattern of Targeting Democratic Areas

The Army Corps pause was part of a broader pattern of funding freezes during the shutdown that disproportionately affected Democratic areas:

• Day 1 (October 1): The Department of Transportation froze $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects, including the Gateway Hudson Tunnel and Second Avenue Subway, and $2 billion for Chicago transit projects
• Early October: The Department of Energy halted $8 billion in climate-related project awards across 16 states, all represented by Democratic senators
• October 17: The $11 billion Army Corps pause

A New York Times analysis found that of the nearly $28 billion in federal projects frozen or canceled during the shutdown's first two weeks, approximately $27.24 billion was in Democratic congressional districts, compared to roughly $739 million in Republican districts.

Trump's Stated Intent

Three days before the Army Corps announcement, President Trump explicitly framed the shutdown as an opportunity for permanent cuts to programs associated with Democrats:

"The Democrats are getting killed on the shutdown because we're closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we were opposed to. So, we're being and—and they're never going to come back in many cases. So we're being able to do things that we were unable to do before. So, we're closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we wanted to close up or that we never wanted to happen. And now we're closing them up, and we're not going to let them come back."

Trump described the programs as "the most egregious, socialist, semi-communist, probably not full communist" and said he had met with Vought "to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent."

Subsequent Army Corps Work Plans

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, later reported that the Army Corps' eventual work plans confirmed the pattern: construction funding was steered to red states while being cut from blue states, relative to the president's own budget request. Funding for California was completely eliminated, despite receiving over $125 million in both Biden's budget request and bipartisan congressional appropriations bills. Murray attributed the shift to the yearlong continuing resolution passed in March 2025, which gave the Trump administration broad discretion to select which Army Corps projects to fund.

Legal Questions

Senator Murray and Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) wrote to the Army Corps calling for all projects to be unpaused, stating: "The executive branch lacks the authority to unilaterally cancel congressionally authorized and funded projects. The uncertainty harms local governments, unions, small businesses, and families. It weakens our nation's resilience against floods and disaster. It places political considerations above public safety."

The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 prohibits the executive branch from withholding congressionally appropriated funds without following specific legal procedures. The GAO has stated that when any executive branch official delays or withholds enacted funding, that constitutes an impoundment subject to the Act's requirements.

Political Response

Democratic response: Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) called Trump's targeting of blue states "not only dangerous and un-American, it's illegal." Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said Trump was "weaponizing government against its political opponents" and putting "community safety at risk." New York Governor Kathy Hochul responded to Vought on X: "Good luck with that, Russ. We'll be in touch." Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said her state had received no official notice and that the Cape Cod bridge project remained funded and legally approved by Congress.

Republican response: House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the administration's broader shutdown strategy. Vought framed the cuts as necessary to reduce government. A White House official told NOTUS the Army Corps project funding was separate from the permanent cuts Trump had discussed, though this distinction was not reflected in Trump's public statements.