Officials in New Jersey, the U.S. state west of New York City, have withdrawn millions of dollars in promised funding for the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, a project that would have created a branch in Jersey City, the state's second-largest city, in partnership with the famous museum of modern and contemporary art in Paris.

On Saturday, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) sent a letter to Centre Pompidou President Laurent Le Bon informing him that the state would not be able to fulfill its part of the agreement after agreeing to pay tens of millions for the project, according to the New Jersey Monitor.

“While we are honored that Jersey City has been selected as the first North American site for a Centre Pompidou facility, we have decided to put this project on hold indefinitely,” wrote Tim Sullivan, NJEDA executive director, citing the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and “multiple global conflicts” on the supply chain, as well as rising costs and a $19 million operating deficit.

New Jersey lawmakers allocated $24 million for the project in the 2024 budget and $18 million in the 2020 budget. Those funds were instead allocated to the state general fund after the state legislature withdrew financial support, according to a letter from the New Jersey Department of State sent to the New Jersey Monitor. This agency has already paid out $6 million to the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency for the Centre Pompidou. In the letter, the State Department demanded that the funds be repaid before August.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who is running for New Jersey governor in 2025, claims the decision to cut funding for the museum project was retaliation against him after he withdrew his support for Tammy Murphy, the wife of the current New Jersey governor, who was running for U.S. Senate.

“Absolutely nothing has changed in this project from what the governor and first lady originally knew and what they are now referring to, and there is ample documentation to support our position,” Fulop spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said, according to the New Jersey Monitor. “The only thing that has changed is the politics in New Jersey and the failed candidacy of the First Lady.” (Tammy Murphy withdrew from the race March.)

Jersey City officials will meet with partners next week to “see if there is a path forward,” Wallace-Scalcione added.

Centre Pompidou x Jersey City was first announced in 2021 as a “multidisciplinary arts laboratory” with cultural and educational programming in the Journal Square neighborhood. About 20 minutes by train from Manhattan in New York, officials hoped that the exhibition of works from the Centre Pompidou's world-famous collection would draw crowds from the city to New Jersey. The project was sharply criticized by New Jersey Republicans, who called the development “a circus of waste and excess.”

When the Jersey City project was announced, the Centre Pompidou already had locations in Brussels, Metz (France), Shanghai and Malaga (Spain). Projects in Saudi Arabia and South Korea are currently being planned. The famous Paris museum will close in the fall for a five-year renovation, a plan that has sparked controversy among the city's creative community.