More Republican senators are going on record against President Donald Trump's targeting of blue states as he freezes transportation funding from New York and Massachussetts, reports The Hill.
While Republicans are unified in saying the Democrats are holding "government funding hostage" in exchange for healthcare concessions during the government shutdown, more are growing "uncomfortable about halting transportation funding to certain states because they are represented by Democrats in Washington," The Hill says.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-A) has been openly critical, saying projects that have been already approved and funded, such as the construction of a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River to facilitate travel and commerce between Manhattan and New Jersey which Trump terminated, will hurt people in those states regardless of their own political views.
“You show me one blue state in America where you don’t have pockets, maybe even big pockets, of Republicans, of conservatives, of MAGA people, of pro-Trump. Do we not care about them?” she said.
“Are we just saying, ‘If you don’t like it, you should move to a place where you’ve got a Republican governor?’” she added. “It makes no sense. Why are we being punitive? It’s hard enough when the government is not operating as it should be. Let’s not be punitive to Americans just to score political points.”
White House budget director Russell Vought doubled down, announcing the administration will be “immediately pausing over $11 billion” in projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore and other Democratic strongholds.
In response to this, Senate Appropriations committee chair Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said, "I’m not for that, I’m not in favor of that" before criticizing Democrats for blocking the "clean" House-passed government funding stopgap.
Joining Murkowski and Collins in their condemnation of Trump targeting Blue states is Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), who, reports The Hill, "argued that funding authority rests with Congress and that projects should be funded — or defunded — on the basis of their merit, not as acts of political patronage or retaliation."
Asked if he thought it was appropriate to dole out or rescind funds as a matter of political patronage or revenge, Moran replied, “No, I don’t. It is not about what political party, what color your state is associated with, it’s about the value of the project, which is determined by Congress and implemented by the administration."
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WVA) agreed, saying that "punishing blue states by withholding transportation funding that Congress approved on a bipartisan basis in the past could boomerang on Republicans when Democrats control the White House and Congress."
When asked if it was appropriate for Trump to freeze funding from states just because they are represented by Democrats in Washington, she said, “I wouldn’t think so. The shoe’s going to be on the other foot someday and I don’t think that’s a good precedent to set."