Team Trump isn't just targeting individual foes; it's also using the government shutdown to seek revenge against programs and entire states.
Before the shutdown, Team Trump used government power to retaliate against individuals.
During the shutdown, Team Trump is using government power to retaliate against whole states.
No wonder a Democratic senator condemned the “mafioso tactics.†www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-02T13:04:01.033Z
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-targets-blue-states-democratic-senator-condemns-mafioso-ta-rcna235126
Things are different in his second term. As The New York Times summarized:
The Trump administration took steps on Wednesday to maximize the pain of the government shutdown, halting billions of dollars in funds for Democratic-led states while readying a plan to lay off potentially droves of civil servants imminently. The moves by the White House appeared both unprecedented and punitive, underscoring the risks of a fiscal stalemate that had no end in sight. It also evinced how President Trump might try to leverage the governmentwide closure to achieve his agenda, slash the budget and exact revenge on his political enemies.
Americans have been confronted with an avalanche of examples in recent months of the Trump administration using the levers of power to exact revenge on the president’s perceived political foes, but most of these instances have involved campaigns against individuals (
see, for example, James Comey, Fani Willis, Letitia James, Adam Schiff, John Brennan, John Bolton and, of course, Joe Biden)....
But with the federal government shut down, the Republican White House is pursuing more expansive abuses, targeting programs and entire states.
The Times’ report added,
“In a series of social media posts, Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, said the administration had paused or moved to cancel the delivery of about $26 billion in previously approved funds across a range of programs, describing the money as wasteful or in need of further review.”
In an especially glaring example, Vought used social media to declare,
“Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”
......Vice President JD Vance treated the developments like a joke.
DOOCY: Does the timing of this indicate you going to squeeze Schumer's home state until he blinks?
JD VANCE: I'm sure that Russ Vought is heartbroken about the fact that he's unable to give certain things to certain constituencies
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-10-01T17:38:37.099Z
Democrats were not amused. In fact, one Democratic senator drew a parallel between the White House’s moves and an organized crime syndicate.
“We’re less than a day into this shutdown, and Trump [and] Vought are illegally punishing Democrat-led states,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington wrote online. “
This administration is clearly salivating at the opportunity to hurt people and using the shutdown they caused as the pretext to do it. These mafioso tactics will not work.”
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