Chicago City Wire

Russ Vought, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), announced on X that $2.1 billion in Chicago transit projects were paused to ensure federal funding is not distributed through race-based contracting.

"$2.1 billion in Chicago infrastructure projects--specifically the Red Line Extension and the Red and Purple Modernization Project--have been put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting," said Vought.

Chicago’s $2.1 billion Red Line Extension and Red & Purple Modernization projects were recently frozen after the White House paused funding over concerns about race-based contracting. According to Reuters, the suspension followed a federal review of diversity and equity provisions in major infrastructure projects, prompting criticism from Illinois officials and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) leaders who warned that delays could inflate costs and derail long-term construction timelines.

The Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line Extension carries a total budget of $5.75 billion, with $1.974 billion in federal Section 5309 New Starts funding and the remainder from state and local sources. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Project Profile, the 5.6-mile expansion includes four new stations and maintenance facilities, now under review due to the federal funding suspension.

Recent court rulings have curtailed race-based contracting criteria across federal infrastructure programs. According to a Federal Aviation Administration memorandum summarizing a September 2024 Kentucky federal court order, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) was preliminarily enjoined from applying Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contract goals, prompting nationwide reviews of diversity-based grant requirements.

Vought is the Acting Director of the CFPB and former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Trump. According to the CFPB’s official biography, he previously founded the Center for Renewing America and has focused on curbing regulatory power and reforming federal fiscal management since his appointment in 2025.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an independent U.S. agency established in 2011 by the Dodd-Frank Act to regulate consumer financial products and ensure market transparency. According to its About Us page, it enforces federal lending laws, supervises banks and nonbanks, and operates under Federal Reserve funding with divisions for supervision, enforcement, and consumer education.