WASHINGTON — In the ongoing government shutdown battle, President Donald Trump has found a surprising silver lining in what Democrats likely didn’t foresee: unprecedented executive powers to cut programs and projects they’ve long fought for. Trump, speaking to Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”, wasted no time in announcing that one of his first targets is the Gateway Program, a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure initiative championed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The shutdown, which began on October 1, was triggered when Democrats blocked a Republican-passed Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government, demanding renewed premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act in exchange for their vote. In doing so, Democrats handed Trump significant leverage, allowing him to wield impoundment authority — the power to withhold and cut spending on programs without Congressional approval. And one of the first projects on his chopping block? Gateway, a $20 billion infrastructure initiative Schumer has fought for over 15 years.
Trump made his intentions clear during his interview with Bartiromo, calling out Schumer and his support for the program. “We’re cutting a $20 billion project that Schumer fought for 15 years to get,” Trump declared, stating that the project was essentially “dead” due to the shutdown. This is a significant blow to the Gateway Program, which has been one of Schumer’s top priorities, aimed at expanding and modernizing rail capacity along a key segment of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between New Jersey and New York City.
The Gateway Program, which involves building new rail tunnels under the Hudson River, replacing aging bridges like the Portal Bridge, and upgrading Amtrak and NJ Transit services, has long been plagued by delays and cost overruns. Initially estimated at $13.5 billion in 2011, the project’s price tag has since ballooned to an estimated $42 billion, with critics citing bureaucratic inefficiencies and unnecessary add-ons as key drivers of the increased costs.
Under the Biden administration, Schumer finally secured funding for Gateway through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021, but the project is still far from completion. As of 2025, tunneling has yet to begin, and when the shutdown kicked off, $18 billion for Gateway was withheld, partly due to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Trump seized the opportunity, declaring that the project was now “terminated”.
Democrats, in their efforts to block the government funding bill, have inadvertently handed Trump the kind of leverage that allows him to cut unwanted programs like Gateway. While many government workers — including U.S. military members — face delays in pay and services, Trump is using the shutdown as a tactical move to push Democrats, including Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, back into negotiations.
In the broader context, this serves as a powerful reminder of how a government shutdown can be wielded as a political weapon — with Trump using it to target what he sees as left-wing pet projects funded by taxpayer dollars. And for Schumer, the loss of Gateway represents a devastating blow to one of his most significant legislative victories, leaving the Democratic Party grappling with the fallout of their own shutdown strategy.
