When Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, announced last week that he was canceling $8 billion in federal funding for energy projects, it was clear that his directive was aimed at hurting Democrats in states they lead.
It was part of the White House’s strategy to maximize the pain of a government shutdown that has now entered its second week. President Trump has repeatedly suggested that he views the shutdown as an “unprecedented opportunity” to cut programs and agencies favored by Democrats.
“A lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” Mr. Trump said last week. “We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things.”
But the energy cuts also appear to have done collateral damage to projects championed by House Republicans in competitive districts in blue states from New York to California — the kind of seats that built the G.O.P. majority, and whose loss could wipe it out. It is the latest example of how Mr. Trump’s aggressive moves to bend the government to his will have threatened his own party’s political standing.
All told, the White House funding cancellations this month have hit projects in 28 Republican House districts, including those of six so-called front-liners, the most politically vulnerable lawmakers facing re-election next year: Representatives Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Gabe Evans of Colorado and Mike Lawler of New York; and Ken Calvert, David Valadao and Young Kim, all of California. A total of 108 Democratic districts were hit by cancellations, according to data released by House Democrats on the Appropriations Committee.
Typically, administrations try to avoid making moves that could create political blowback for their allies in Congress, especially those who could make or break their party’s grip on power. But the Trump administration has largely taken a meat-ax approach to cutting federal programs and funding, ignoring Congress and leaving its allies on Capitol Hill to cope with the consequences.
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The post Trump Aimed Shutdown Cuts at Democrats, but G.O.P. Districts Are Hit, Too appeared first on New York Times.
