#federalism

#federalism

Shortly after the first government shutdown since 2019 began earlier this month, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced that he was freezing $8 billion in infrastructure projects exclusively in states that voted for Kamala Harris. The projects that Vought consigned to funding purgatory included a multibillion-dollar renovation and expansion of the Hudson Tunnel from New Jersey to New York City and an extension of the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line.

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that powers not delegated to the United States nor prohibited to the States are reserved for the States or the people.

President Trump's administration scrapped a Texas law that provided financial aid for 'Dreamers,' undermining a nearly 25-year bipartisan agreement, through a joint motion with the Texas Attorney General.

The foundation of American government rests on a simple but powerful principle: states are not mere departments of the federal government. They are sovereign entities with both the right and the responsibility to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their residents.

"We're still a federal state, and that means that there are powers that are given to the federal government in D.C. and powers that are given to states and localities," Ross Burkhart told me.