Trump’s Blue State Assault

The White House is threatening to throttle federal funding to blue states, escalating Trump’s war of retribution. On Capitol Hill, some Republicans worry it could cost them the House.

For months, President Donald Trump has been threatening to withhold federal funding from states that have resisted his agenda—a pressure campaign that has largely failed to bend Democratic governors to his will. But it could have significant, unintended political consequences for Republican candidates in those states, threatening G.O.P. control of the House. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Leigh Ann Caldwell

January 25, 2026

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Earlier this week, the Office of Management and Budget sent out a memo, written in typical Washington bureaucratese, requesting that nearly every federal agency compile information on all funding being provided to a list of 14 states and the District of Columbia, purportedly to root out fraud and waste. “This is a data-gathering exercise only,” the memo stated drily. “It does not involve withholding funds, and therefore does not violate any court order.” And yet, the directive immediately sent shock waves through Capitol Hill. Every one of the targets was a blue state.