WASHINGTON — In the newest chapter of the ongoing battle between the Trump administration and state of New York over congestion pricing, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the federal government could block federal approval for highway projects if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not end the tolling program.
In a letter today to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — which opens with the phrase “I write to warn you …” — Duffy says the state has until May 21 to show that it has either halted the tolling program or can show why it does not violate a federal statute prohibiting tolls on roads built with federal funds, unless given an exception. The Biden administration issued that exception last year, but Duffy announced it was being rescinded in February [see “New York MTA sues …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 19, 2025].
Otherwise, Duffy said, the federal government will not authorize any highway construction projects or provide environmental approvals for projects in Manhattan, and could expand that policy statewide if the state does not comply. Only “safety projects” would be excepted.
Duffy saved his most pointed comments for the press release publicizing the move, repeatedly calling the tolling program “illegal” and saying it “engages in class warfare and prices working-class Americans out of accessing New York City. …
“The federal government sends billions to New York — but we won’t foot the bill if Governor Hochul continues to implement an illegal toll to backfill the budget of New York’s failing transit system,” Duffy said in the release. The congestion tolling program supports MTA capital projects.
Rhetoric around the tolling program — which charges most drivers $9 to enter lower Manhattan — has been heated from the beginning. President Donald Trump, who had said during his campaign that he intended to kill the program, announced the program would be halted in a social media post, writing, “Manhattan, and all of New York is saved. Long live the king!” Hochul, responded then, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” in announcing the state would sue to preserve the program.
“Another day, another threatening letter from the Department of Transportation regarding our congestion pricing program,” Hochul said today in a brief video posted on social media. “Let me repeat this for those who didn’t hear us the first 10 or 11 times. Congestion pricing is legal. It’s working. Business is up. Traffic is down. And the cameras are staying on.”
MTA CEO Janno Lieber, in a statement, said the agency “received Secretary Duffy’s letter setting yet another new deadline and are evaluating MTA’s legal options, given that the legal issues raised in the letter are already appropriately before a federal judge.” Tolling will continue in the meantime, he said, “and New Yorkers continue to benefit … with less traffic, cleaner air, safer streets, and a stronger regional economy.”
Duffy has previously threatened to withhold funds from the MTA unless it detailed efforts to address rider and worker safety, although crime statistics have improved from a year ago [see “Citing crime concerns …,” News Wire, March 19, 2025].
More lawsuits coming?