In an unexpected turn of events, the Democrats' decision to block a Republican-passed Continuing Resolution (CR) to maintain federal government funding has inadvertently granted President Donald Trump an extraordinary level of executive power.
This power, he revealed, will be used to dismantle certain projects favored by the Democrats.
During an interview on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, Trump expressed his belief that the Democrats' move to shut down the government was a "mistake." He stated that this action has given him the authority to cut their favored projects without any repercussions.
One such project, worth billions of dollars, is particularly dear to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The government shutdown, now referred to as the Schumer Shutdown, was initiated on October 1. The Democrats refused to vote for the funding bill unless the Republicans agreed to renew the soon-to-expire premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act.
According to Fox News, this decision appears to have been short-sighted, as it has provided Trump with the impoundment authority to start reducing left-wing programs funded by taxpayers.
During the discussion about the Democrats' "No Kings" protest in Washington D.C., which Schumer is expected to attend and address, Trump announced his intention to cut a $20 billion project that Schumer has been advocating for years. "We're cutting a $20 billion project that Schumer fought for 15 years to get, and I'm cutting the project. The project is gonna be dead. It's just pretty much dead right now," Trump declared.
The project in question is the Gateway Program. Schumer has been championing this initiative since at least 2012, following the cancellation of its predecessor, the Access to the Regions Core (ARC) tunnel project, in October 2010. The Gateway Program is a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project aimed at expanding and modernizing rail capacity along a crucial 10-mile segment of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Newark, New Jersey, and New York Penn Station.
The project's primary focus is on constructing new rail tunnels under the Hudson River to supplement the century-old North River Tunnels, replacing aging bridges such as the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, and enhancing Amtrak and NJ Transit services.
However, the Gateway Program has been plagued with setbacks due to unchecked government growth, with costs spiraling far beyond initial estimates due to bureaucratic inefficiencies, over-engineering, and unnecessary add-ons. The projects cost has escalated from around $13.5 billion in 2011 to potentially $42 billion for full implementation, including elements such as Penn Station expansions that critics argue arent essential for core tunnel repairs.
In 2021, under the Biden administration, Schumer finally received the necessary funding to push the Gateway Program forward through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which allocated billions for NEC upgrades. However, by 2025, tunneling had still not begun.
When the Schumer Shutdown began, $18 billion was withheld due to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, with Trump declaring that the Hudson Tunnel Project had been terminated.
The Democrats' decision to hold the federal government hostage has left millions of Americans without federal support and government workers, including U.S. military members, without pay. However, their move has also given Trump unprecedented leverage to eliminate unwanted left-wing programs, such as the Gateway Program.
By targeting a project that Schumer has been fighting for, Trump has made a strategic move that underscores how the Democrats' stalling strategy allows him to force Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries back to the negotiating table.
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