White House puts on hold $18 billion in funding for New York City rail tunnel and subway projectsNEW YORK -- The Trump administration said Wednesday that it was putting a hold on roughly $18 billion 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 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. In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Schumer said he and then-President Joe Biden were both "giddy" over the rail tunnel project, adding that it was all they talked about in the presidential limousine as they rode to the site. The Hudson River rail tunnel is a long-delayed project whose path toward construction has been full of political and funding switchbacks. It's intended to ease the strain on a 110-year-old tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey.