Rep. Kelly on frozen funds for Red Line Extension project
October 3, 2025
CHICAGO – U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) strongly condemned the withholding of federal funds for Chicago infrastructure projects, which includes $1.9 billion she secured for the Red Line Extension project to build the first CTA stop in the Second District.
Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the US Department of Transportation will freeze funding due to the project’s “race-based contracting.”
“Instead of working to reopen the government, President Trump and Russ Vought, his Project 2025 architect, are holding our Red Line Extension hostage during the Republican shutdown,” said Rep. Kelly. “President Trump is not slick; I see what he’s doing, and I refuse to bend the knee to a bully in the White House who does not negotiate in good faith and holds an axe over South Siders’ Red Line. He is targeting Black people during a government shutdown, withholding 25,000 additional jobs and economic opportunity from South Siders. Meanwhile, President Trump is making sure that his Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom in the White House continues right on schedule.”