Massive Leftist city smacked with an eyebrow raising punishment from the Trump admin

The Trump administration isn’t playing games. They aren’t afraid to act when necessary.

And a massive Leftist city was smacked with an eyebrow raising punishment from the Trump admin.

President Trump’s team just slammed the brakes on $18 billion worth of federal cash headed to New York City’s pet projects. The reason? Those funds were tangled up in what the administration calls straight-up “unconstitutional” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) “principles”—better known as the woke agenda that’s been poisoning American priorities for years.

Russ Vought, the sharp-eyed Director of the Office of Management and Budget, dropped the hammer on X yesterday, making it crystal clear this isn’t business as usual. “Roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles,” Vought said. “More info to come soon from [the U.S. Department of Transportation].”

Picture this: billions frozen for the Hudson Tunnel project, which according to reports from CBS News, is a massive undertaking to carve out a fresh rail passage under the Hudson River while patching up the crumbling North River Tunnels that keep Amtrak and NJ Transit chugging along.

Without this lifeline, commuters from Jersey to Manhattan could face years of delays and headaches. And that’s not all—the Second Avenue Subway extension, set to push the Q line up into Harlem with shiny new stops, is also caught in the crossfire.

This isn’t some petty grudge; it’s a stand against the radical left’s obsession with identity politics over real results. New York’s Democratic machine has been shoveling taxpayer dollars into these boondoggles while ignoring the folks who actually ride those trains every day—hardworking Americans tired of excuses and empty promises.

Senate bigwig Chuck Schumer, the guy who’s spent years twisting arms in D.C. to funnel cash into his home turf, labeled the Hudson Tunnel gig as “the nation’s largest public works project.” He’s poured his political capital into it, begging for every federal dime like it’s his personal piggy bank. But now, with Trump’s crew calling the shots, Schumer’s grand vision is grinding to a halt.

Joining the fray is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Brooklyn Democrat who’s been front and center in the Democrats’ war against any Trump-backed spending plan. These two have rallied their blue-team troops to stonewall Republican efforts at a clean government funding deal, preferring shutdown drama over compromise.

Jeffries didn’t hold back when he heard about the freeze, firing off a tirade that reeks of the same entitlement his party loves to peddle. “Again with this guy (and his baseless threats),” Jeffries stated. “Russ, you are the poster child for privilege and mediocrity. Get lost.”

The timing couldn’t be sweeter for Trump loyalists watching New York’s mess unfold. Just days ago, the President lit into the city’s mayoral mess, zeroing in on socialist firebrand Zohran Mamdani, who’s polling like a rocket in the race for City Hall. Trump’s warning was pure fire, a reminder that Washington won’t bankroll radical fever dreams.

“He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him? This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed!”

And let’s not forget the other shoe dropping this week: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unloading on Governor Kathy Hochul for turning the Empire State into a rogue’s gallery. Hochul’s outfit has been accused of dishing out commercial driver’s licenses to illegal border-jumpers, no questions asked, no real names required. It’s a recipe for chaos on the interstates.

Duffy didn’t mince words, calling out the governor’s border-betraying antics in a scorching X post. “Kathy Hochul continues her campaign to make New York one of the most lawless states in the country. … ALL illegally issued CDLs endanger American families on the road. My recent emergency action to restrict CDLs will work to counteract these disastrous, America-Last policies,” Duffy said.

This is Hochul’s New York: a sanctuary for lawbreakers while everyday truckers and families dodge unqualified drivers hauling freight—or worse. Duffy’s crackdown is a lifeline, yanking back control from Democrat open-border zealots who treat national security like a punchline.

Across the board, Trump’s administration is drawing a line in the sand against the elite coastal cabal that’s bled the heartland dry for decades. Freezing funds tied to DEI dogma? That’s not punishment—it’s purification, stripping away the virtue-signaling rot that jacks up costs and delays real progress.

Schumer and Jeffries can howl all they want, but their tantrums only prove the point: the old guard’s grip is slipping. They’ve cozied up to every failed socialist experiment, from bloated transit black holes to handing keys to the kingdom to unvetted migrants. Trump’s response? A resounding no more.

As details trickle out from the Department of Transportation, expect more revelations on just how deep the DEI poison ran in these projects. Were contracts rigged for quota-chasing consultants? Stations designed around “equity” checklists instead of efficiency? The truth will sting, but it’s the medicine New York needs.

For the forgotten men and women grinding it out in flyover country, this freeze is vindication. No longer will D.C. dollars prop up blue-state fantasies at the expense of red-state roads and bridges.

Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.