WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has embraced the federal shutdown as an “unprecedented opportunity” to slash spending and shrink government, but new rounds of targeted spending cuts from the White House aimed at Democratic states and priorities are raising concerns among Republicans that they may be at risk of ceding their political advantage.
Republicans in Congress believe they hold the upper hand in four-day-old stalemate, as Democrats voted against measures to keep the government open because they want to attach additional policy measures. But the sweeping cuts to home-state projects — and the threat of mass federal firings — have some in the GOP worried the White House may be going too far and potentially give Democrats a way out of their tight spot.
“This is certainly the most moral high ground Republicans have had in a moment like this that I can recall, and I just don’t like squandering that political capital when you have that kind of high ground,” GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told reporters this week.
As hopes faded Friday for a quick end to the shutdown — with Democrats holding firm in a key Senate vote — the White House signaled more layoffs and agency cuts could follow. Trump shared a video Thursday night portraying budget director Russ Vought as the grim reaper. The cuts are raising fresh questions about whether voters want a government that uses discretionary power to punish political opponents — and whether Republicans may face electoral consequences for the White House’s actions.
“There’s the political ramifications that could cause backlash,” Cramer said in another interview. “It makes everything going forward more difficult for us.”
Since the shutdown began, Trump has moved to cancel $7.6 billion in clean energy grants across 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election. On Friday, the administration announced an additional $2 billion cut, this time to a major public transit project in Chicago. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is also reviewing funding to Portland, Oregon.
“He’s just literally took out the map and pointed to all the blue states,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, told The Associated Press.
Democrats have seized on the shutdown and cuts as evidence of Trump’s overreach. There could be near-term fallout, including in next month’s governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. Democratic candidates in both states have linked their GOP opponents to Trump’s policies and criticized them for not standing up to his latest moves.
In New Jersey, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill blasted Republican Jack Ciattarelli over Trump’s move to block funding for a long-delayed rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, saying it will hurt commuters and put thousands of good-paying union jobs at risk.
“What’s wrong with this guy?” Sherrill said Friday.
In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger noted the state already has been hit hard by job cuts made by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. She said Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is “refusing to stand up for our workforce and our economy.”
Earle-Sears said Democrats are to blame for the shutdown, and said Spanberger did nothing to encourage the state’s Democratic senators to stop it.
The administration’s targeting of blue states has already begun to ripple through states like California, where $1.2 billion in funding for the state’s hydrogen hub was scrapped. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said it threatens more than 200,000 jobs.
Though Harris won California handily in 2024, the state includes several competitive House districts that could decide control of the chamber in 2026. Similar districts exist in other states affected by the cuts, including New York and New Hampshire, which also has key gubernatorial and Senate races.
Democratic groups have moved quickly to tie local Republicans to the fallout. American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic group, has highlighted swing-district Republicans in states where cuts have occurred, accusing them of having “sat by and let it happen.”
“The cruelty that they might unleash on everyday Americans using the pretense of a shutdown is only going to backfire against them,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in an interview with The Associated Press and other outlets at the Capitol.
The cuts are also complicating Senate negotiations, prolonging a shutdown that could leave thousands of federal workers without pay and halt key programs. Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat whom Republicans have tried to sway, said “there’s no question” the cuts have damaged talks.
“If you’re trying to get people to come together and try to find common ground, that’s the absolute wrong way to do it,” said Peters.
Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent, broke from Democrats earlier this week to support the GOP funding bill. He called the cuts “so utterly partisan as to be almost laughable.”
“If they overreach, which is entirely possible, I think they’re going to be in trouble with Republicans as well,” said King.
Many Senate Republicans have not endorsed Vought’s approach directly, instead blaming Democrats for rejecting funding bills and opening the door to the White House’s more aggressive moves.
“It’s the reason why Republicans have continued to support a continuation,” said GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota. “If you’ve noticed, Republicans have solidly supported this short-term continuing resolution because we do not want to see this.”
“It’s not like we promoted it,” said Rounds. “We’ve done everything we can right now to try to avoid it.”
Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.