Trump administration halts funds for projects in blue cities as Democrats refuse to reopen the government



President Donald Trump's administration is ramping up the pressure on Democrats who refuse to reopen the government over two weeks into the shutdown.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced Friday that he will be pausing over $11 billion of project funding across several blue cities. This pause will halt funds for "lower-priority" projects overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers in New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore.

'We're only going to cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you.'

This pause comes more than two weeks into the Democrat-induced government shutdown after nearly a dozen failed votes on the Senate floor.

"The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers' ability to manage billions of dollars in projects," Vought wrote in a post on X. "The Corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects & considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. More information to come from the Army Corps of Engineers."

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This pressure is the latest of several actions taken by the Trump administration since the government shut down on October 1. Ahead of the shutdown, Vought notified agencies to begin drafting reduction-in-force notices that later resulted in over 4,200 layoffs across various prominent agencies.

A Clinton-appointed judge in California has since halted those RIFs.

Vought also previously paused billions of dollars' worth of infrastructure and environmental projects in other blue cities like Chicago and New York City.

At the same time, the Trump administration is working to minimize shutdown pains for the military, working through Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure that service members received their October 15 paycheck.

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Trump previously warned Democrats that his administration would take these actions if they did not join Republicans to reopen the government. Assuming all 53 Republicans vote in favor of the funding resolution, at least seven Democrats need to join the GOP to reopen the government.

"We're only going to cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting last week.

"Chuck Schumer proclaimed this morning that every day gets better for them," Trump added. "No, every day it's actually getting worse for them, and they're having a rebellion in the Democrat Party because they want to stop."

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'Bring it on': Trump administration to pay military with War Department funds if shutdown continues



Frustration is mounting among federal workers as the government shutdown begins its second week. However, the Trump administration has found a way to continue paying a vital part of the government: the military.

With payday for the military looming on Wednesday and no end to the government shutdown in sight, Trump announced that the Department of War would be pulling extra funds to pay servicemen and women.

'I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.'

Trump blamed the Democrats in Congress for the shutdown after nearly two weeks of leaders refusing to come to the table to pass a clean CR bill.

"If nothing is done, because of 'Leader' Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th. That is why I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS," Trump said in a Saturday Truth Social post.

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"I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown," Trump continued.

Asked for more information regarding Trump's announcement, a Department of War official told Blaze News, "The president has directed the secretary of war to use available funds to pay service members on October 15. The Department of War has identified approximately $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service members in the event the funding lapse continues past October 15. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”

Asked for comment, the White House referred Blaze News to the Office of Management and Budget. An OMB spokesperson confirmed the plan, saying, "The military will be paid using pots of R&D money available at DOW for two years."

On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson expressed his confidence in the president's funding plan. He said that Democrats have threatened to challenge the move in court.

"Are Democrats suggesting they want to go to court to STOP PAYCHECKS from being issued to our troops?! BRING IT ON!" Johnson said on X. "I'm grateful for a Commander in Chief who is prioritizing the brave men and women serving in our military — even while Democrats are working and VOTING REPEATEDLY to BLOCK their hard-earned pay."

Without this move by the Department of War and President Trump, the military's pay would likely be suspended with back pay until an appropriations bill is passed. A major piece of legislation, the Antideficiency Act, bars agencies from spending money when it has not been appropriated by Congress.

GovFacts succinctly explains the "central paradox" of the government shutdown as it relates to military spending: "The [Antideficiency Act's] emergency exception legally requires active-duty service members to keep working to protect the nation. But the ADA's core prohibition forbids the government from obligating funds to pay their salaries without an appropriation."

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Democrats feign outrage as Trump administration shutdown layoffs hit: 'They seem to be enjoying it'



With no end in sight to the government shutdown, President Donald Trump's administration is putting Democrats in an unenviable position.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced Friday that the administration has officially begun issuing reduction in force notices, laying off over 4,200 government workers across several key departments, like Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. As the government approaches its third week of the shutdown, Democrats are left weighing their options.

'The easiest way to stop this is for five [Democrats] to come to their senses.'

These layoffs come as no surprise. Vought previously threatened Democrats with mass layoffs just days before the September 30 funding deadline. Still, Democrats are feigning surprise.

"Here's what's worse: Republicans would rather see thousands of Americans lose their jobs than sit down and negotiate with Democrats to reopen the government," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "The way forward is simple: Stop the attacks, come to the table, negotiate, and reopen the government. Until Republicans get serious, they own this — every job lost, every family hurt, every service gutted is because of their decisions.”

RELATED: 'PAY OUR TROOPS': Trump unveils creative solution to minimize military's shutdown pain

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Democrats blocked the Republican-led funding bill that would have kept the government open and operating at virtually the same funding levels.The GOP's bill was a simple, clean, 90-page continuing resolution with no partisan anomalies, save a bipartisan line item that would boost security funds for lawmakers following Charlie Kirk's assassination.

Rather than voting alongside Republicans to keep the government open, Democrats decided to introduce their own $1.5 trillion spending bill that would reverse major legislative accomplishments achieved in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats also insisted on immediately renegotiating healthcare subsidies from the Affordable Care Act, though these aren't set to expire until the end of the year.

Democrats are in the minority in both the House and the Senate.

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Senate Democrats have stubbornly voted no over a half dozen times on reopening the government. One senior Democratic aide told CNN that the party will not concede short of "planes falling out of the sky."

"The pressure thus far hasn't moved them at all," Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Blaze News during a press call hosted by the Republican Study Committee. "They seem to be enjoying it."

"I don't think anybody in the White House takes any pleasure in this at all," Johnson told Blaze News. "I've spoken to the president about this myself. Of course, I've spoken to Russell Vought as well. They're in an unenviable position."

"The easiest way to stop this is for five [Democrats] to come to their senses in the Senate and join Republicans to reopen the government."

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Deadlocked Democrats continue stubborn standoff, prolonging government shutdown



Senate Democrats stubbornly kicked the can down the road, voting Friday to keep the government shut down.

The government shutdown will continue through the weekend after 44 Democrats voted against the Republicans' clean continuing resolution. However, more Democrats voted with Republicans on Friday than on Tuesday, as New York Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's coalition begins to crumble.

'The Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.'

Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Democrat Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine joined 51 Republicans in voting to reopen the government on Friday. Notably, these are the same three senators who initially bucked their party and voted with the GOP. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone "no" vote of his party.

"We could be considering bipartisan appropriations bills through regular order, but instead we are stuck in a shutdown mess of Democrats’ making," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said. "And the American people are suffering as a result."

RELATED: Trump trolls leftists as shutdown presents key opportunity to cut 'Democrat Agencies'

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"Republicans are about to vote (again) to reopen the government and every Democrat outside of a few sensible moderates will vote to keep it shut," Vice President JD Vance said ahead of the vote. "This is the basic fact of the shutdown, and no one can deny it."

Schumer and his fellow Democrats have backed themselves into a corner. Rather than passing the same continuing resolution Democrats have voted for over a dozen times in past spending fights, Schumer is attempting to leverage the shutdown to force Republicans to negotiate on Obama-era health care subsidies.

Democrats even proposed their own competing funding bill, which boasts a $1.5 trillion price tag and would effectively reverse every legislative accomplishment from Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In contrast, the Republican-led bill is a clean continuing resolution with a funding anomaly to boost security spending for politicians in light of Charlie Kirk's horrific assassination.

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To Democrats' dismay, their negotiating tactics have proven ineffective. Although the White House has reiterated that the administration would rather reopen the government, President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought are seizing the opportunity.

Ahead of the shutdown, Vought notified federal agencies to begin drafting reduction-in-force notices in anticipation of mass layoffs. Trump and Vought also met Thursday to identify which "Democrat Agencies" would be cut, and tens of billions of dollars' worth of projects have already been halted by the administration.

"I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity," Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday. "They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

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Russell Vought’s quiet war on big government



The government is shut down again, and the usual panic is back. I even had someone call my house this week to ask if it was safe to fly today. The person was half-joking, half-serious, wondering if planes would “fall out of the sky.”

For the record, the sky isn’t falling — at least not literally. But the chaos in Washington does feel like it. Once again, we’re watching the same old script: a shutdown engineered not by fiscal restraint but by political brinkmanship. And this time, the Democrats are driving the bus.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills.

Democrats, among other things, are demanding that health care be extended to illegal immigrants. Democratic leadership caved to its radical base, which would rather shut down the government for such left-wing campaign points than compromise. Republicans — shockingly — said no. They refused to rubber-stamp more spending for illegal immigration. For once, they stood their ground.

But if you’ve watched Washington long enough, you know how this story usually ends: a shutdown followed by a deal that spends even more money than before — a continuing resolution kicking the can down the road. Everyone pretends to “win,” but taxpayers always lose.

The Vought effect

This time might be different. Republicans actually hold some cards. The public may blame Democrats — not the media, but the people who feel this in their wallets. Americans don’t like shutdowns, but they like runaway spending and chaos even less.

That’s why you’re hearing so much about Russell Vought, the director of the United States Office of Management and Budget and Donald Trump’s quiet architect of a strategy to use moments like this to shrink the federal bureaucracy. Vought spent four years building a plan for exactly this scenario: firing nonessential workers and forcing reauthorization of pet programs. Trump talks about draining the swamp. Vought draws up the blueprints.

The Democrats and media are threatened by Vought because he is patient, calculated, and understands how to leverage the moment to reverse decades of government bloat. If programs aren’t mandated, cut them. Make Congress fight to bring them back. That’s how you actually drain the swamp.

Predictable meltdowns

Predictably, Democrats are melting down. They’ve shifted their arguments so many times it’s dizzying. Last time, they claimed a shutdown would lead to mass firings. Now, they insist Republicans are firing everyone anyway. It’s the same playbook: Move the goalposts, reframe the narrative, accuse your opponents of cruelty.

We’ve seen this before. Remember the infamous "You lie!” moment in 2009? President Barack Obama promised during his State of the Union that Obamacare wouldn’t cover illegal immigrants. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted, “You lie!” and was condemned for breaching decorum.

Several years later, Hillary Clinton’s campaign platform openly promised health care for illegal immigrants. What was once called a “lie” became official policy. And today, Democrats are shutting down the government because they can’t get even more of it.

This is progressivism in action: Deny it, inch toward it, then demand it as a moral imperative. Anyone who resists becomes the villain.

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Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Stand firm

This shutdown isn’t just about spending. It’s about whether we’ll keep letting progressives rewrite the rules one crisis at a time. Trump’s plan — to cut what isn’t mandated, force programs into reauthorization, and fight the battle in the courts — is the first real counterpunch to decades of this manipulation.

It’s time to stop pretending. This isn’t about compassion. It’s about control. Progressives know once they normalize government benefits for illegal immigrants, they never roll back. They know Americans forget how it started.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills. If we don’t take it, we’ll be right back here again, only deeper in debt, with fewer freedoms left to defend.

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Trump trolls leftists as shutdown presents key opportunity to cut 'Democrat Agencies'



President Donald Trump has once again trolled Democrats for giving the administration the perfect opportunity to further implement the MAGA mandate.

As the federal government enters its second day of the shutdown, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday that layoffs will likely be in the thousands. This estimate comes as Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought meet to identify which "Democrat Agencies" should be cut.

'I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.'

"It's likely going to be in the thousands," Leavitt said. "It's a very good question, and that's something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here is unfortunately having to work on today."

"These discussions and these conversations, these meetings, would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open," Leavitt added.

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Vought already halted a few projects on Wednesday, totaling roughly $26 billion. Vought first paused $18 billion worth of projects in New York City, including the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Ave Subway. Vought also canceled nearly $8 billion in "Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda" across 16 different states.

Trump, likely trolling Democrats about their failed attempts last year to turn Project 2025 into an electoral liability, later announced that he would be meeting with Vought "of PROJECT 2025 Fame" to continue identifying programs and agencies to cut.

"I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, 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," Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday.

"I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity," Trump added. "They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

RELATED: Government grinds to a halt after Democrats force first shutdown in 6 years

Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

The Senate is set once again to vote Friday on the pair of continuing resolutions proposed by Republicans and Democrats respectively. The Republican-led CR is the same clean CR Democrats voted for to keep the government open over a dozen times prior, adding only an anomaly for increased security funding for government officials.

On the other hand, Democrats put forth an ideological bill that contains roughly $1.5 trillion worth of funding aimed at reversing everything accomplished in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Notably, three Senate Democrats initially voted for the Republican led-CR on Tuesday, indicating fractures in New York Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's base. The Senate needs 60 votes, or at least seven Democrats, to pass the funding bill to reopen the government, assuming all 53 Republicans vote in lockstep.

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Government grinds to a halt after Democrats force first shutdown in 6 years



While congressional Democrats continue to dig their heels in, the federal government has officially shut down for the first time in over half a decade.

The government shut down at midnight on October 1 after Democrats continuously blocked the Republican-led funding bill in the Senate. The GOP's funding bill is a clean, 91-page continuing resolution with no partisan anomalies. The only new provision in the Republican bill is a bipartisan provision that boosts security funding for politicians in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's horrific assassination.

'The ball is in the Democrats’ court.'

Rather than passing the clean bipartisan resolution, Democrats have insisted on ramming through their $1.5 trillion funding bill that reverses every meaningful legislative accomplishment Congress passed earlier in the year with President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some of these Democratic priorities include continuing $350 billion worth of Biden-era subsidies, reviving federal funds for PBS and NPR, and reinstating public health care benefits for illegal aliens.

"House Republicans passed the SAME clean, nonpartisan CR that Chuck Schumer himself voted for back in March — and called 'the right thing to do,'" Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote in a post on X. "The ONLY thing that’s changed since then is pressure from his base to close down the government. That’s not leadership, it’s cowardice."

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"The ball is in the Democrats’ court," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a post on X. "But Chuck Schumer wants a Schumer shutdown."

The House previously passed the GOP's continuing resolution in a 217-212 vote, with just one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, joining Republicans to keep the government open. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted against the bill.

The Senate eventually took up both the Republicans' clean CR and the Democrats' hyper-partisan funding bill on Tuesday, both of which failed. Although Republicans enjoy a supermajority in Congress, the CR needs 60 votes to pass the Senate. Assuming all 53 Republicans vote for the bill, at least seven Democrats will have to cave to reopen the government.

Notably, Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania as well as independent Sen. Angus King of Maine voted in favor of the Republican funding bill. One GOP senator, Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against it. Both bills will be up for a vote again in the Senate on Wednesday.

RELATED: Most Democrats vote against bill boosting security funds for politicians following Kirk assassination

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Although shutdowns have historically proven to be unpopular, Republicans are seizing the opportunity to continue implementing the MAGA mandate.

Ahead of the shutdown, Russell Vought's Office of Management and Budget began circulating a memo directing different agencies to identify programs whose funding would lapse following the shutdown and to begin drafting reduction in force notices for employees who would be affected.

As of this writing, Vought announced that roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been halted to "ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles."

"It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict," Vought wrote in a memo released Tuesday. "Regardless, employees should report to work for their next regularly scheduled tour of duty to undertake orderly shutdown activities. We will issue another memorandum indicating that government functions should resume once the president has signed a bill providing for appropriations."

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To Vought's point, it remains unclear how long Democrats will allow the government to stay closed. The last shutdown began on December 22, 2018, during Trump's first term, after Congress failed to approve a spending package that included funding for Trump's border wall. The shutdown lasted 35 days, the longest in history.

The government eventually reopened on January 25, 2019, after Congress reached a deal to pass a temporary spending bill without border funding, and Trump signed it.

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