Overview

• OMB Director Russ Vought said funding for Chicago’s Red Line Extension and Red and Purple Modernization is on hold while USDOT conducts an administrative review of contracting practices.
• USDOT this week issued an interim final rule that bars race- and sex-based contracting requirements in federal grants and sent formal notice letters to the Chicago Transit Authority.
• Earlier this week, roughly $18 billion for New York’s Second Avenue Subway and the Hudson/Gateway tunnel was placed under review, and a $300 million reimbursement for the subway project was paused.
• DOT said the government shutdown has furloughed civil-rights staff, slowing the reviews and preventing reimbursements from being processed.
• New York and Illinois officials condemned the freezes, and reporting indicates legal challenges are likely as the administration also pursues related funding cancellations and reallocations.