The White House has stopped the billions of dollars needed to pay for the construction of two new tunnels under the Hudson River.

That project to construct those tunnels by 2035 is entirely dependent on nearly $18 billion in federal funding.

The White House Office of Management and Budget said the funding is being stopped to find out if the 300 to 400 people working on the project were hired through Diversity Equity and Inclusion Initiatives.

The head of that office, Russ Vought, said through social media, “Roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.”

However, political analyst Micah Rasmussen, with Rider University, says this decision is directly linked to the government shutdown and finger-pointing between both Republicans and Democrats as to who is to blame.

“There would be no reason to stop the funding other than a partisan difference or political motive,” Rasmussen added. “The prospect of this disrupting what has already been a years-overdue project is really just depressing and more of the same for New Jersey’s long beleaguered commuters.”

Gov. Phil Murphy offered a statement on the decision, saying, “With millions of commuters depending on the Hudson Tunnel Project and tens of thousands of jobs on the line, I’m confident that we’ll be able to work with the Trump Administration to keep Gateway moving forward. A project of this importance should be above politics.”