GOP Senators Break With Trump On Punishing Blue States, Warn ‘MAGA People’ Getting Hurt Too

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Several top Republican senators spoke to The Hill’s Alexander Bolton this week and broke with President Donald Trump over his administration’s unilateral funding cuts to blue state infrastructure projects.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) bluntly told Bolton, “No,” when asked if she supports Trump’s threats to cut major projects like the $16 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. The Trump administration has been putting pressure on Democrats during the ongoing shutdown by stripping their states of major projects and defunding programs, something that critics long warned was part of the Project 2025 playbook.

“I’m not for that. I’m not in favor of that,” said Collins, who had previously criticized the administration for yanking Congressionally appropriated funds.

“What we really need is for the Democrats to be more cooperative in opening government,” Collins added, however, shifting the blame. “It is very telling last week that they voted against bringing regular appropriations bills to the Senate floor and that they also are blocking the appointment of conferees for the three bills we passed months ago.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) warned that the Trump administration is hurting Republicans by punishing blue states, including “MAGA people.”

“You show me one blue state in America where you don’t have pockets, maybe even big pockets, of Republicans, of conservatives, of MAGA people, of pro-Trump. Do we not care about them?” Murkowski warned, adding:

Are we just saying, ‘If you don’t like it, you should move to a place where you’ve got a Republican governor? It makes no sense. Why are we being punitive? It’s hard enough when the government is not operating as it should be. Let’s not be punitive to Americans just to score political points.

Bolton also spoke to conservative Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), who argued funding should only be doled out based on merit.

“No, I don’t,” Moran said when asked if he supports Trump punishing blue states during the shutdown.

“It is not about what political party, what color your state is associated with, it’s about the value of the project, which is determined by Congress and implemented by the administration,” Moran added.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) warned that GOP retaliation against the Democrats can quickly boomerang back on the right. Bolton reported of his conversation:

Asked if it’s appropriate to terminate funding in blue states just because they are represented by Democrats in Washington, Capito said: “I wouldn’t think so.”

“The shoe’s going to be on the other foot someday and I don’t think that’s a good precedent to set,” Capito added.

She noted former President Obama targeted Republican-led states such as West Virginia when Democrats controlled Washington by cracking down on coal and fossil-fuel production, something that hurt her home state’s economy.

“During the Obama administration, he basically killed my red state,” Capito added.

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