'Mafioso politics': How Trump's war on blue states is punishing millions of GOP voters

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media on board Air Force One on the way to Miami, Florida, U.S., April 12, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

President Donald Trump's administration is now targeting billions of dollars in clean energy projects in predominantly Democratic-run states. But it isn't just Democrats who are feeling the pain from those funding cuts.

This week, Russ Vought — who is the director of the United States Office of Management and Budget — announced that the administration was freezing $18 billion worth of infrastructure projects in New York, as well as another $8 billion in funds for 18 states that all voted for 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and are represented by two Democrats in the U.S. Senate.

"Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled," Vought wrote on Wednesday. "The projects are in the following states: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA."

However, Politico reported Thursday that dozens of House Republicans who represent districts in those states were also counting on that money to provide jobs for their constituents. According to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, as many as 28 House Republicans are now having to explain the sudden loss of federal funding in their districts (108 Democratic lawmakers also lost funding in their respective districts).

"[The] sad reality is that Americans — the middle class, working class, and vulnerable — who voted for both Democrats and Republicans will be hurt by this," she said. "This is divisive, it is petty, and unfortunately it is exactly what we have come to expect from President Trump and Russ Vought."'

The New Republic's Greg Sargent seized on one exchange between Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and CNN host Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday night, in which the New York Republican tried to argue that Trump wasn't singling out Democrats for his war on green energy projects. Sargent argued that Lawler's admission exposed how many vulnerable House Republicans in swing districts now have to work even harder to get reelected in next year's midterms.

"As a vulnerable incumbent in the 2026 midterms, the Congressman needs to appear above such sordid abuses of power," Sargent wrote. But Lawler, whose district has a lot of Trump voters in it, is actually confirming something important: An untold number of Republicans will be negatively impacted by Vought’s sick little power trip."

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Politico that the funding freeze has "nothing to do with a government shutdown and everything to do with Mafioso politics and the unraveling of our democracy." He further criticized California Republican members of Congress for "doing nothing to stop Trump’s dictatorial vengeance tour."

Click here to read Politico's full report.

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