Vought Pauses $11B in Projects During Schumer’s Shutdown

‘Schumer’s Shutdown’ might cost $11 billion in projects, Russ Vought, the director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, posted on X.

The federal pause affects an array of infrastructure work now stalled while federal funding has evaporated. Local projects in places like New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore are among those at risk.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes complex projects, including energy, security, and disaster

The projects rely on federal funding that has run dry since the federal government shut down, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works told Townhall in an email.

“Because of the lapse in appropriations that provide for oversight of Army Corps projects, we believe that our office and the Corps may be unable to provide adequate oversight of all the projects currently in the portfolio, which includes projects essential to life and safety.  To enable continued oversight of the most critical projects throughout the nation, we will pause and review other projects to see if we can deliver them more efficiently.”

The agency did not name specific projects it would pause, leaving local officials and contractors in the dark about timelines and budgets. That uncertainty makes planning hard and pushes costs upward when work finally resumes.

Whatever the eventual list looks like, the halt will reverberate through supply chains and smaller firms that depend on Corps contracts. Delays of this scale ripple into labor schedules, materials orders, and community expectations.

The U.S. Senate has voted 11 times on whether to reopen the government, which requires 60 votes. Republicans in the Senate have 53 lawmakers, and Democrats have voted down the proposal every time so far.

Today, Democrats will attend the “No Kings” rally, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson fired back on social media. Democrats have refused to reopen the federal government unless Republicans give illegal immigrants free health care.

That political standoff is now being felt where real projects intersect with public safety and economic growth. When oversight and appropriations dry up, the practical result is a slowdown in work that protects communities and supports jobs.

Early videos of the protest show mostly people over the age of 50.

Local leaders and contractors will need written guidance from the Corps and OMB about which projects are deemed critical and which will be paused. Without clear criteria, some essential flood control, levee and coastal protection work could face dangerous interruptions.

Budget pauses like this also complicate state and municipal planning that assumed federal matches or reimbursements. Cities that counted on Corps schedules now face contingency decisions and potential overruns.

Republican leaders argue that responsibility lies with Senate Democrats who have repeatedly blocked reopening the government. That line of argument frames the pause as a direct consequence of political choices in Washington rather than unavoidable bureaucratic delay.

Contractors and communities will watch how the review unfolds, and whether any projects are reprioritized or canceled as the Administration suggested it might. The decisions made during a shutdown can set the tone for how fast recovery happens once funding resumes.

Beyond the immediate hold on spending, the pause highlights the fragility of projects that depend on annual appropriations and federal oversight. When funding stops, timelines stretch and local costs climb, leaving taxpayers and workers to shoulder the fallout.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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