OMB chief Russ Vought pauses $2.1B in Chicago metro funding

WASHINGTON — Chicago became the second major US city to have billions of dollars in federal funding for infrastructure projects paused on Friday, as the Trump administration seeks to root out purported DEI contracts amid the government shutdown.

“$2.1 billion in Chicago infrastructure projects–specifically the Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization Project — have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting,” announced Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought on X.

The move came after New York City had $18 billion for the Second Avenue subway and Hudson Tunnel frozen on Wednesday, so the US Department of Transportation could review whether any of its funding for the projects is going toward unlawful DEI initiatives.

“Illinois, like New York, is well known to promote race- and sex-based contracting and other racial preferences as a public policy,” the Transportation Department said in a statement, citing a PBS report that the Chicago Transit Authority has spent roughly a fifth of its metro modernization funding on contracts with firms designated as so-called Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs).

“The American people don’t care what race or gender construction workers, pipefitters, or electricians are. They just want these massive projects finally built quickly and efficiently,” the DOT added in its release.

“Secretary [Sean] Duffy and USDOT are committed to conducting these reviews as fast as possible so reimbursements can move forward. Unfortunately, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries’ decision to shut down the government has negatively affected the Department’s staffing resources for carrying out this important analysis.”