The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it was putting a hold on roughly $18bn to fund a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey and the city’s expanded Second Avenue subway project – because of the government shutdown.The White House budget director, Russell Vought, said on a post on X that the step was taken due to the Republican administration’s belief that the money was “based on unconstitutional DEI principles”, a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion.But an administration official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity to discuss the hold, said the government shutdown that started at midnight meant that the transportation department employees responsible for reimbursing workers on the projects had been furloughed, so the money was being withheld.In a statement, the transportation department confirmed the furloughs, saying: “Without a budget, the department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review.”“This is another unfortunate casualty of radical Democrats’ reckless decision to hold the federal government hostage to give illegal immigrants benefits,” the statement reads.The suspension of funds is likely meant to target Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, whom the White House is blaming for the shutdown.New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, told reporters at a news conference, “The bad news just keeps coming,” and “they’re trying to make culture wars be the reason why.”Hochul said: “That’s what a partnership with Washington looks like as we’re standing here. We’ve done our part. We’re ready to build.