President Trump promised the gathering of top American generals and admirals in Quantico this week that “we’re going into Chicago” very soon, indicating that he advised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the U.S. military should use some of America’s most populous cities as “training grounds.”
Outside of its ongoing trade wars, the most serious war the U.S. is fighting at present, Trump suggested, was the so-called “war from within” that, in his telling, must be waged with boots on urban streets in cities run by Democrats and the equivalent of domestic economic sanctions.
The generals and admirals sat still and stayed silent as Trump threw the Hatch Act in the air, daring anyone to call him on it, but the President has neither sat still nor stayed silent.
Amidst dramatic ICE raids in Chicago, Trump has also cut federal funds appropriated for Chicago infrastructure projects, part of a quickening pattern of withholding money and halting projects in Democrat-run areas of the country.
(New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, both Democrats, have seen the Trump administration halt $18 billion in funds for Hudson River tunnels.)
In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson — already preparing his city for an uninvited military presence — responded to OMB Director Russ Vought‘s social media announcement that “$2.1 billion in Chicago infrastructure projects–specifically the Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization Project–have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting. More info to come soon from @USDOT.”
A Democrat, Johnson asked — in language designed to appeal to MAGA loyalists — “Argentina gets $20 billion and the South Side gets nothing. What happened to America First?”
Argentina gets $20 billion and the South Side gets nothing. What happened to America First? https://t.co/NoC9MPocmG
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) October 3, 2025
(Despite its various pledges to end foreign aid, the Trump administration recently said it would bail out Argentina with $20 billion, even as farmers there benefit from Trump’s trade war with China, selling soybeans to a country that has shut down access to American sellers.)
Vought’s appropriations withholding and the specificity of his targets is being celebrated by the President.
Posted by the President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/hKKOhif5Nb
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 3, 2025
House Speaker Mike Johnson instead promoted the idea that Vought made these cuts only reluctantly and only because his hand was forced by the government shutdown.
Mike Johnson: "Russ does this reluctantly. He takes no pleasure in this. Because Russ has to sit down and decide which policies, personnel, and which programs are essential and which are not. That's not a fun task and he's not enjoying that responsibility … if they keep the… pic.twitter.com/ONYfYFLisS
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 2, 2025
Former Republican prosecutor Ron Filipkowski, a Trump critic, described Vought’s actions as simply undoing good bipartisan policy that jumpstarted infrastructure under the Biden administration.
Trump promised an infrastructure bill for 4 years in his first term.
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 3, 2025
Said it was coming in 2 weeks many times.
Never delivered one.
Democrats then delivered critically needed funding for crumbling infrastructure.
Now Russ Vought is taking that away.
But only in blue states.
