Trump Moves To Kill Congestion Pricing In Nyc

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump moved to halt a controversial Manhattan toll plan on Wednesday, throwing into doubt billions of dollars in financing for the region’s mass transit system.

Rescinding federal support for the tolls triggered immediate legal action against the Trump administration from backers of the tolls, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

In a social media post, Trump said “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

The president’s comments followed a more bureaucratic move by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to withdraw necessary approval of the New York tolls, which took effect in early January.

“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy said in a statement. “Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes”

The Trump administration’s decision was first reported by The New York Post.

Janno Lieber, the president and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said in a statement the mass transit agency filed papers in federal court to keep the program in place.

“It’s mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally-supervised environmental review – and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program – USDOT would seek to totally reverse course,” Lieber said.

Hochul is backing up the MTA.

“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” she said in a statement. “The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”

Nevertheless, the Trump administration’s effort is a blow to Hochul and supporters of the plan, who had spent the last month highlighting the benefits of the tolls, including reduced traffic.

The tolls for cars entering Manhattan below 60th Street went into effect on Jan. 5 after Hochul initially delayed the program over concerns it would hurt battleground Democratic House candidates. She revived the toll plan in November and lowered the cost from $15 to $9.

Congestion pricing supporters — an eclectic coalition that includes left-leaning mass transit advocates and the city’s business boosters — had tried to convince Trump of the program’s potential for funding major infrastructure improvements for the city’s bus and subway systems.

The $1 billion of projected annual revenue from the tolls was expected to be leveraged for $15 billion in municipal bonds to pay for projects meant to shore up the region’s shambolic mass transit.

"Public transit riders won congestion relief and are now enjoying faster and more reliable bus service from throughout New York and New Jersey,” Riders Alliance Executive Director Betsy Plum said. “We organized for a decade, held two governors accountable, and prevailed in court in three states after years of exhaustive environmental studies. We are committed to maintaining and expanding on our victory and will defend it with everything we have."

But Trump — who had been critical of congestion pricing during the presidential campaign — was not convinced.

“The president of the United States who regularly came into Manhattan, who worked out of Trump Tower in the last four years, saw the signs going up and saw the impact of congestion pricing,” said New York Conservative Party Chair Gerry Kassar. “He’s a New Yorker who saw the detriment congestion pricing was bringing to the city.”

New York’s powerful construction industry decried Trump’s decision. The industry is already facing uncertainty because of tariffs and questions about whether Trump will proceed with infrastructure spending plans created during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“The withdrawal of federal support for congestion pricing is grossly shortsighted,” Carlo Scissura, the head of the New York Building Congress, said in a statement.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who sued to block the tolls, is among some Democrats rejoicing at Trump’s decision. On Trump’s inauguration day, the governor sent a letter to the new president echoing Trump’s own criticism of congestion pricing as a “disaster.”

“I want to thank President Trump and Secretary Duffy for their efforts to halt the current congestion pricing program in Manhattan’s Central Business District,” Murphy said in a statement.

Another member of Congress who vocally opposed congestion pricing, Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer — who is running for governor — celebrated the move.

“They never cared about how the tax would hurt Jersey families — they just needed the cash to pay for the MTA’s woeful mismanagement,” Gottheimer said in a statement.

Duffy, in a letter to Hochul sent Wednesday, cited Murphy’s concerns over the program as well as the broader issues Trump has raised about the effect of the tolls on commuters.

“I share the president’s concerns about the impacts to working class Americans who now have an additional financial burden to account for in their daily lives,” he wrote.