The funding freeze, which came despite a full funding agreement executed earlier this year, comes amid a broader anti-DEI push from the administration. In announcing the pause, federal officials said they’d be examining whether the Red Line Extension involves “race-based contracting” that Trump officials claim are discriminatory.

National Guard troops arrived in Illinois as part of an unprecedented deployment with a directive to protect federal immigration agents “in places where there are violent demonstrations. So where might that be?

Local organizers who have been working on the project for more than 30 years said the Red Line extension is essential for those who live in “transportation deserts” on the Far South Side of the city.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to send National Guard troops into U.S. cities — including Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Chicago — over the objections of Democratic mayors and governors have prompted a host of questions about the president’s authority and who controls the Guard.

“It’s illegal, unconstitutional,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “It’s dangerous. It’s wrong. This is not about deportations, this is not about safety for this president. This is about authoritarianism. It’s about stoking fear. It’s about breaking the Constitution.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both potential 2028 presidential candidates, contend Trump’s troop deployments should be a matter of concern for all governors. But some Republican governors have supported Trump’s actions.

“We’re not going to be intimidated in Chicago,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “It’s my responsibility to stand up to tyranny and to make sure that we are defending the people of this city.”

The lawsuit filed by Illinois and Chicago officials calls the looming deployment of both Texas and Illinois National Guard troops a politically motivated and unconstitutional federal overreach.

The Chicago Headline Club, Chicago Newspaper Guild Local 34071, Block Club Chicago and other media groups filed the suit alongside protesters in federal court alleging their First Amendment rights have been violated.

Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, are facing felony charges of “forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer,” federal prosecutors announced Sunday.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said military officials called Saturday morning and “gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”

Gov. JB Pritzker, who is running for a third term as governor and considering a run for president in 2028, said he was “appalled by the reports of excessive use of force against children as well as the many innocent bystanders who were punished simply for residing in that building.”

The pause affects a long-awaited plan to extend the city’s Red Line train. The money was “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting,” budget director Russ Vought wrote on social media.

These cuts are likely to affect battery plants, hydrogen technology projects, upgrades to the electric grid and carbon-capture efforts, among many others, according to the environmental nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.

President Donald Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors, meeting with budget director Russ Vought on Thursday to talk through “temporary or permanent” spending cuts.

The pact asks the schools to accept the government’s priorities on admissions, women’s sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability, among other topics.