The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would withhold $18 billion in funding for the New York-New Jersey Hudson Tunnel project and the Second Avenue subway extension in Manhattan.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy promised to “usher in a golden age of travel” during his Senate confirmation hearing. When asked about the Gateway project, which includes the Hudson Tunnel as well as new bridges and other infrastructure, he said, “I imagine those good projects that are underway, we would continue.”
An Oct. 1 Transportation Department press release said the Hudson Tunnel and subway projects were placed under administrative review “to determine whether any unconstitutional practices are occurring.”
The DOT also linked its actions to the standoff between Democrats and Republicans over the budget, which led to a federal government shutdown that took effect on Wednesday. “Thanks to the [Sen.] Chuck Schumer and [U.S. Rep.] Hakeem Jefferies shutdown, however, USDOT’s review of New York’s unconstitutional practices will take more time,” DOT said in the news release. “Without a budget, the Department has been forced to furlough the civil rights staff responsible for conducting this review.”
The Hudson Tunnel project, part of the larger Gateway program, involves constructing a new twin-tube tunnel beneath the Hudson River and renovating the existing 115-year-old tunnel, which serves as a critical link for New York City commuters and Northeast Corridor train riders.
“The same people who say roads can’t be racist seem to think a tunnel will enact DEI,” Beth Osborne, president and CEO of Smart Growth America, said in an emailed statement. “Everyone knows this project is extremely important to the Northeast Corridor, and the Northeast Corridor makes up 20 percent of U.S. GDP. We need this tunnel, and we have been waiting for it for decades.”
The project has secured the necessary funding and is on schedule and on budget, New Jersey Transit president and CEO Kris Kolluri told an audience at an American Public Transportation Association conference Sept. 16. The Gateway Development Commission, which oversees the project, “complies with all federal laws and regulations, and will continue to do so throughout the project,” its CEO, Thomas Prendergast, said in an emailed statement.
“It's no wonder selfish figures would target public transit because it brings people together, fosters community, and proves that our government can work for us rather than tear us apart," Riders Alliance Policy and Communications Director Danny Pearlstein said in an emailed statement.
The funding freeze “also puts tens of thousands of jobs in jeopardy,” Tom Wright, Regional Plan Association president and CEO, said in an emailed statement. “RPA calls on the US DOT to immediately reverse the freeze and recommit to its obligations to fund the largest and most urgent infrastructure project in America.”
More than 300 clean energy-related grants were also terminated today by the U.S. Department of Energy. White House Budget Director Russell Vought said on X, “Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being cancelled.” The Energy Department said in a news release that 223 projects “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.”
