The war of words between the White House and Albany’s Executive Mansion has felt like a game of chicken since the start of the year. The third deadline from the Trump administration to shut down New York City’s congestion pricing zone passed on Wednesday, and Governor Kathy Hochul didn’t blink. The threats from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have been empty so far. However, federal officials are still trumpeting a doomsday scenario where all the funding from Washington to the Big Apple is cut off.
Governor Kathy Hochul is considering outright telling the Trump administration that congestion pricing will remain in place unless there’s a court order to stop, according to the New York Daily News. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency administering the program, is currently in the middle of a federal court case against the USDOT. The White House has been less than pleased with the performance of its lawyers. The divide became public when three Assistant U.S. Attorneys accidentally released an 11-page document outlining their doubts that federal courts would agree with Duffy’s view on the congestion zone’s legality.
Sean Duffy’s threats have been empty so far
Besides the court case, the federal government is also trying to intimidate New York into ending congestion pricing. Duffy gave the state a deadline to shut it down or federal funding would be withheld. The first deadline was March 21. When Hochul didn’t comply, the deadline was extended to April 20. Then, it was extended again to May 21. After the second missed deadline, Duffy said:
“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. We are giving New York one last chance to turn back or prove their actions are not illegal.”
The Transportation Secretary seems terrified of cutting off the gas to the country’s biggest economic engine, which completely defeats the purpose of using it as a threat. If the federal government directly impacts New York’s ability to govern itself and decimates the country’s economy as a result, it would be a lose-lose situation for everyone involved. Congestion pricing wasn’t implemented on a whim. The MTA desperately needed billions of dollars to maintain and modernize the subway system without raising fares. If the congestion pricing ends, it would hurt the poorest Americans the most.
