Trump Freezes $6.7M In NJ Funding To Pressure Democrats To End Shutdown: Report

The Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion in approved funding for Democratic-led congressional districts, including $6.7 million in New Jersey grants, as it seeks to pressure an end to the government shutdown, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

Although the move is widely interpreted as a punitive measure against Democrats, about $738.7 million in funding in 14 Republican-led congressional districts was also paused, according to The Times’ examination of federal funding records.

In New Jersey $6.7 million in federal funding was affected, with three grants either frozen or canceled.

Congressional districts affected by the freeze are represented by Democrats, including New Jersey’s 6th district (represented by Rep. Frank Pallone) and New Jersey’s 12th district (represented by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman).

In NJ-6, two grants were affected, totaling $4.7 million, and in NJ-12, one grant was affected, totaling $2 million.

“The Constitution is pretty clear that the President isn’t in charge of funding decisions,” Coleman said in an online statement. “Those belong to the people’s representatives in Congress. So ultimately this power grab will get overturned by the courts.”

“But until this slips through Trump's tiny little fingers, he doesn’t care that these cuts will lead to higher energy prices in the long term and hurt his voters, as long as they please his donors,” Coleman continued.

In a statement sent to Patch, Pallone said that while he expects the freeze on funds to get struck down in court, the action should alarm Americans.

"Congress controls the purse, not the president," Pallone said. "Stealing federal funds from blue states because you don’t like how they vote is as petty as it is unconstitutional."

"While this stunt will eventually get slapped down in court, it should alarm all Americans that theft of approved federal funds is being normalized by Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress,” Pallone continued.

Critics say the cancellation of the projects is an escalation of President Donald Trump’s use of executive power to disadvantage Democratic-leaning states and benefit Republican-leaning ones.

He has threatened further cuts if the stalemate continues, describing it as an opportunity “handed to us on a silver platter” to lay off more federal workers and gut funding, perhaps permanently, The Times reported.

The halted funding, secured after years of lobbying, included new investments in clean energy, electric grid upgrades and transportation infrastructure. In some cases, funding had already been partially dispersed, and work on the projects had already begun.

The Trump administration has withheld billions in federal aid from New York and Chicago, targeting transportation and security funding.

In New York, $18 billion for the Second Avenue subway and Hudson River tunnel was paused, while Chicago saw $2.1 billion for transit upgrades halted.

• Read More: Trump Axes $18B For NYC Projects, Including 2nd Ave Subway

The White House justified the freezes by citing reviews of the cities’ contracting policies, scrutinizing decisions based on race, diversity, or inclusion.

The Trump administration has long been at odds with Democratic leaders from both states, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer in New York, and Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker in Illinois.

Two days into the shutdown, the Trump administration cut $7.6 billion from 223 energy projects across 16 states, predominantly Democratic-led. These cancellations, targeting climate and infrastructure funding from the Biden administration, were deemed “not economically viable” or misaligned with Trump's energy policy.

Critics say the cuts are politically motivated and counter to bipartisan goals like preventing power outages and modernizing energy grids, as well as investments in newer sources like hydrogen.

Editor's Note: This article was updated with a statement from Rep. Pallone