Trump Reneges on Langworthy’s Promise

In August 2024, Representative Nicholas Langworthy announced that his Western New York district had secured $17.4 million in federal funds for the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The grant, issued through the U.S. Department of Energy, was intended to build a new microgrid — a backup power system designed to keep hospitals, water systems, and emergency facilities operating during outages.

“This grant will bring critical investment to the heart of Western New York,”

Less than a year later, the Trump administration revoked the same grant, citing what officials described as “a government-wide review of discretionary programs and alignment with current administration priorities.”

Becky Robbins, communications coordinator for the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities , confirmed the termination.

“The termination seems to be mostly concerning the microgrid project,”

She said the Board of Public Utilities had already issued requests for proposals and was in the process of awarding contracts when the notice came.

According to the same report, the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office had already executed a $17.37 million contract before the cancellation notice arrived. The cancellation left Jamestown without the federal support its congressman had announced and without a plan to modernize the city’s power grid.

New York Bears the Brunt of Trump Cuts

And this wasn’t the only project canceled in New York State.

According to The New York Times analysis published October 19, 2025, New York suffered more project cancellations than any other state in the Trump administration’s funding review. The Times identified 56 canceled projects across 14 of the state’s 26 congressional districts, totaling more than $18 billion in withdrawn funds.

Among the largest affected projects is the Hudson Tunnel Project, a long-planned $16 billion expansion and rehabilitation of the century-old rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. The project, part of the broader Gateway Program, had already secured federal commitments through the Department of Transportation and Amtrak. Reporting indicates the administration has frozen or rescinded key funding commitments, effectively halting early-stage work on what is widely considered the region’s most important infrastructure project.

Other canceled New York projects include clean-energy and grid-modernization grants, housing and resiliency projects, and transportation upgrades in upstate communities such as Jamestown, Rochester, and Albany — many of them announced within the past two years.

Twelve of the fourteen affected Newv York congressional districts are represented by Democrats, accounting for 52 projects and roughly $18 billion in losses. The remaining two districts — represented by Republicans Nicholas Langworthy (NY-23) and Michael Lawler (NY-17) — lost four projects worth a combined $53.6 million.

Nationwide, the Times found 101 congressional districts with cancellations. Of those, 88 were Democratic and 13 Republican. Democratic-held districts lost about $27 billion, while Republican districts lost roughly $664 million — a huge difference between Republican districts and Democratic districts that raises questions about fairness and non-partisanship in the administration’s review.

Even within New York, the cuts were uneven. The state’s other Republican-held districts — Nick LaLota (NY-1), Andrew Garbarino (NY-2), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), and Claudia Tenney (NY-24) — were untouched. Yet two of the state’s most visible Trump allies found their own districts on the losing end of the funding review.

Trump Cuts

New York’s total losses of more than $18 billion across 56 projects, were greater than any other state’s. Despite their long-term, vocal loyalty to the  Trump administration, Langworthy and Lawler were unable to shield their districts from cuts that spared most other Republican congressional districts in New York and nationwide.

Cuts Increase New York’s Balance of Payments Deficit

The cancellations hit a state that already sends far more to Washington than it gets back. According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, in the most recent pre-pandemic fiscal year, New York sent approximately $20 billion more to Washington than it received in federal spending. New York’s balance of payments consistently ranks among the largest of any state, reflecting how New York taxpayers subsidize federal programs in other states, mainly red states.

The latest round of project cancellations increases New York’s imbalance. The $18 billion in cancelled funding represents money New Yorkers contribute to the federal treasury that they won’t get back to their own communities. That money would have funded improvements in infrastructure, research, housing, and clean-energy projects across the state.

“These cuts directly impact local businesses and major companies, putting workers out of jobs. New York Republicans should grow a spine and demand that President Trump restore this funding.”

Part of Trump’s “Get Even” Program?

The program cuts come against a backdrop of open political retribution by President Donald Trump, who has made punishing enemies a theme of his second term. Trump has linked funding decisions to political loyalty, saying earlier this year, “We’re not going to keep sending billions to people who hate us.”

That rhetoric has taken on new meaning in light of the canceled projects, most of which are concentrated in Democratic districts or blue states such as New York and California. In May 2024, a Manhattan jury convicted Trump of 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records in the first degree, tied to the Stormy Daniels hush-money case. He has since characterized the verdict as part of a state-led conspiracy and singled out New York for retaliation. Two other former officials—James Comey and John Bolton—have since been indicted: Comey on September 25 2025 on charges of false statements and obstruction, and Bolton on October 16 2025 on 18 counts of mishandling classified information.

For New Yorkers, the optics are unmistakable: a state that already pays more to Washington than it receives is now being cut out of projects it was promised.

Impact on Western New York

In Western New York, the cuts have hit hardest in communities that had already planned for the promised federal funding. Jamestown’s microgrid project was among the first to move forward under the Department of Energy’s grid modernization program. Contracts were being finalized, local vendors lined up, and preliminary engineering work had begun before the grant was cut.

The CleanFiber Inc. project — another Western New York recipient slated for $10 million in clean-energy funding — was also cut. The plant was expected to expand local production of cellulose insulation, adding jobs and reducing industrial waste.

Rep. Langworthy publicly touted both of the now-cancelled projects earlier this year, issuing press releases describing them as examples of “federal investment returning to Western New York.” Following the cuts, business groups in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties urged Langworthy to intervene, while city officials began exploring whether the money could be re-established through a future Department of Energy cycle.

In Rochester and Buffalo, similar uncertainty surrounds proposed infrastructure upgrades linked to federal matching funds. Local planners warn that the cuts mean longer timelines, higher costs, and fewer near-term jobs.

Cost to New York Taxpayers

The project cuts raise questions about accountability: what response can New Yorkers expect from their congressmen, particularly Republican congressmen, when Washington decides to cut money already appropriated?

For Rep. Langworthy, the issue cuts both ways. He had boasted about bringing millions in federal money to his district, only to see the projects cut a few months later by the Trump administration, which he continues to support. His district is one of just two Republican-held seats in New York to lose funding. His NY23rd district now gets less federal money than when his term began.

The pattern is the same across the state: projects reviewed, delayed, or canceled in Democratic districts, while most Republican districts, except Langworthy and Lawler, were spared. 

Governor Kathy Hochul and members of New York’s congressional delegation have called for hearings into how the cuts were assigned and whether party politics played a role. 

Every canceled project — whether Jamestown’s microgrid, the Hudson River tunnel, or a local clean-energy initiative — is taxpayer money that left New York and will not return. For a state long accustomed to paying more and receiving less, the message is clear: political loyalty to Trump is no guarantee.