President Donald Trump’s team is using federal levers to force movement. Critics say the squeeze lands hardest in Democrat-run cities.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced a pause on more than $11 billion in project funding.

He targeted “lower-priority” Army Corps of Engineers projects in New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. The move arrives with the shutdown stretching past two weeks and the Senate deadlocked after nearly a dozen failed votes.

“The Democrat shutdown has drained the Army Corps of Engineers’ ability to manage billions of dollars in projects,” Russ Vought wrote. “The Corps will be immediately pausing over $11 billion in lower-priority projects & considering them for cancellation, including projects in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore. More information to come from the Army Corps of Engineers.”

The administration says Democrats refuse to reopen the government.

Republicans argue the stall comes from demands tied to spending and policy. The funding freeze aims to force talks by hitting projects that big-city leaders want.

Trump signaled this strategy well in advance.

He warned that programs in Democrat-led jurisdictions would be first on the chopping block if the stalemate continued. He also framed the shutdown as a test of will.

“We’re only going to cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you,” Donald Trump said.

“Chuck Schumer proclaimed this morning that every day gets better for them,” Donald Trump said. “No, every day it’s actually getting worse for them, and they’re having a rebellion in the Democrat Party because they want to stop.”

Before the shutdown began, Vought instructed agencies to prepare reduction-in-force notices.

Those notices led to more than 4,200 layoffs across prominent agencies. A Clinton-appointed judge in California later halted those RIFs.

The funding screws tightened elsewhere, too.

Vought previously paused billions for infrastructure and environmental projects in cities like Chicago and New York. The current freeze broadens that approach to multiple coasts while the Army Corps triages capacity.

The White House is trying to cushion the uniformed side.

Through Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, the administration worked to ensure service members received their mid-month paycheck. That step aimed to protect the force while other civilian functions slow.

The vote math remains tight and unforgiving.

If every one of the 53 Republicans supports the funding resolution, at least seven Democrats must join to pass it. The impasse continues as both parties test each other’s limits.

Supporters of the freeze say it cuts waste and forces priorities.

They argue that lower-priority projects should not move while core functions are strained. They also contend that concentrated spending in blue cities should face tougher scrutiny.

Opponents say the tactic punishes residents who have no say in the stalemate.

They warn that paused projects will cost more when restarted and could slow local repairs. They also fear longer delays as agencies consider cancelations.

Vought’s post on X framed the stoppage as immediate and sweeping.

The reference to potential cancelations raised the stakes for city leaders. It also signaled that the pause is leverage, not a mere paperwork delay.

Trump has kept the message direct and combative.

He wants Democrats to join Republicans and reopen the government. He ties the outcome to which programs survive and which ones get cut.

The strategy is simple to describe and hard to ignore.

Freeze funds in blue strongholds, protect the troops, and force Senate movement. City halls now face the prospect of watching shovel-ready work sit idle.

The next decision belongs to the holdouts.

Seven votes can flip the script and restart the gears. Until then, the money sits, and the pressure rises.