The Trump administration said it is pulling the plug on New York City’s controversial congestion pricing plan, just weeks after it started, but Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA are fighting to keep it in place.
In a letter to Hochul on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it was terminating its Nov. 2024 agreement with the state. This after President Trump spoke with Hochul at least twice about ending the program, according to a highly placed source familiar with the matter.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called congestion pricing “backwards and unfair,” saying it is harmful to small businesses.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy wrote. “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. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair. The program also hurts small businesses in New York that rely on customers from New Jersey and Connecticut. Finally, it impedes the flow of commerce into New York by increasing costs for trucks, which in turn could make goods more expensive for consumer. Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means. It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few.”
Not long after the move to end the tolling plan, Trump posted on social media “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
Hochul, MTA, Riders Alliance push back
Hochul was clearly not happy with what transpired on Wednesday and vowed in a statement to fight the Trump administration in court.
“Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future — as a New Yorker, like President Trump, knows very well,” Hochul said. “Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever. Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10%. Transit ridership is up, drivers are having a better experience, and support for this program is growing every day.”
Hochul then took aim at Mr. Trump’s remarks on social media.
“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court,” Hochul said.
The MTA said Wednesday it was filing papers in court to make sure the program stays in place. MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber called the move by the Trump administration to rescind approval “mystifying,” saying the program has been a success.
“Today, the MTA filed papers in federal court to ensure that the highly successful program — which has already dramatically reduced congestion, bringing reduced traffic and faster travel times, while increasing speeds for buses and emergency vehicles — will continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away from the millions of mass transit users, pedestrians and, especially, the drivers who come to the Manhattan Central Business District,” Lieber said in a statement. “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.”
The Riders Alliance said it will fight to keep congestion pricing.
“Public transit riders won congestion relief and are now enjoying faster and more reliable bus service from throughout New York and New Jersey. 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,” Riders Alliance Director Betsy Plum said.
“It is raising money to create construction jobs, fixing the subway. It is backwards and unfair to go back into the past to a gridlocked New York,” Riders Alliance Director of Policy and Communications Danny Pearlstein added. “We’ve won in court in New York, New Jersey, in Pennsylvania already defending congestion pricing. We are no stranger to litigation. We’ll be back, and we expect to have the governor of New York and the MTA right alongside us.”
Hochul takes aim at “long live the king” comment
At a press conference Wednesday afternoon with MTA leadership, the governor doubled down on Mr. Trump’s “long live the king” comment posted on social media.
“I’m here to say, New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years, and we are not, we sure as hell are not gonna start now. The streets of the city where battles were fought, we stood up to a king and we won then. In case you don’t know New Yorkers, we’re in a fight, we do not back down – not now, not ever,” Hochul said.
She went on to say she and the MTA were fighting for all New Yorkers from commuters and drivers to emergency personnel and residents with asthma.
“I don’t care if you love congestion pricing or hate it, this is an attack on our sovereign identity, our independence from Washington. We are a nation of states. This is what we fought for. This is what people like Alexander Hamilton and others fought for, to set up a system where you’re not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington,” Hochul said.
Hochul also said the license plate reader cameras will be staying on, and Lieber added the MTA’s legal filing states they will not be turning off the tolls until there’s a court order.
“New York ain’t going back. We tried gridlock for 60 years, it didn’t work. It cost our economy billions. But you know what’s helping our economy, what’s making New York a better place? Congestion pricing,” Lieber said.
While Hochul and Lieber both say they are confident they will be able to beat the Trump administration in court, Hochul said commuters should now think of the president whenever they are stuck in traffic.
“If in some world that they are successful, the next time you’re stuck in traffic, the next time your train is delayed, the next time you’re in a flooded station because infrastructure repairs were not made, I want you to think of this,” Hochul said, holding up an image posted on the official White House social media pages depicting Mr. Trump wearing a crown with the caption “LONG LIVE THE KING.”
Opponents thrilled with Trump administration’s decision
Some New York City and suburban leaders hailed the decision to pull the plug on the program.
“We’ve said this was a loser from Day 1,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said. “This is good news for the people who have basically been, I think, hijacked by many of those who said this was going to help them, when, in fact, it hurt them.”
Fossella acknowledged traffic had improved in parts of the area, but said that’s no reason for Staten Island residents to have to pay a third toll.
“Staten Island residents who have to commute by car to work already pay two tolls. This would be a third to travel in and around the city. And yeah, sure, there may have been pockets where traffic was reduced, but it was amplified in other parts of the city, outside the Central Business District, which is what we all predicted from Day 1,” Fossella said.
“There is no no-toll option to enter into our city center using these federal funded highways. And so they’re within their right to reverse this decision. And I’m glad that the president did,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said. “It is a bad policy that hurts our economy, hurts small businesses, hurts residents.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman lauded the Trump administration for doing away with what he calls a “very oppressive tax on the hard-working families of the Metropolitan Area.”
“It didn’t make any sense and my commissioner to the MTA, David Mack, was the sole commissioner to vote against it, and he was right, and President Trump was right. This is an oppressive tax. It’s a burden on the taxpayers. It’s a burden on the students. It’s a burden on the people who work in that area. And it was the right thing to do to terminate it,” Blakeman added.
Blakeman said Nassau County residents were “mad as hell” about the tolling plan.
“Spending $9 just for the privilege of driving on a public thoroughfare is not something that goes over well for people who have to work in downtown Manhattan, people who are students in downtown Manhattan, people who just want to take their kids there for the day. So they were very angry about this and I think they are going to be very happy this tax is terminated,” Blakeman said.
Hempstead, the nation’s largest township, sued the MTA, charging congestion pricing exceeded its congressional authority as a pilot program. Supervisor Don Clavin said he was gratified legal challenges like his were cited in the decision to plug the plug.
“I’ve never seen the Tri-State Area so galvanized, so against something as congestion pricing,” Clavin said. “They overreached. They had to go back to Congress seeking authority.”
Among those also applauding was Charlton D’Souza, president of Passengers United, which represents Long Island Rail Road riders. The group was opposed to congestion pricing.
“I’ve been going to the MTA meetings for years. This agency is accountable to no one. It’s a mess,” D’Souza said. “The MTA didn’t provide any additional service, so the trains have been crowded on the Long Island Rail Road. The buses have been crowded.”
Congressman Mike Lawler, who has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2026, also released a statement thanking Mr. Trump and blasting Gov. Hochul.
“This is a huge win for New York families, commuters, and small businesses ruthlessly targeted by this unjust tax,” Lawler said, in part. “Make no mistake: this entire program is nothing more than a scam — a money grab — and is the symptom of a far deeper, systemic issue in our state — government overreach and rampant mismanagement at the hands of Kathy Hochul and her cronies in Albany.
“Instead of imposing new, crippling taxes on struggling families, we should be auditing the MTA, the worst-run authority in America, to find savings, address its outrageous waste, and make sure that commuters are kept safe and served as well as they deserve,” he added.
New Jersey lawmakers take a victory lap
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who earlier had said congestion pricing was the one area where he and Mr. Trump could find common ground, released the following statement:
“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. While I have consistently expressed openness to a form of congestion pricing that meaningfully protects the environment and does not unfairly burden hardworking New Jersey commuters, the current program lines the MTA’s pockets at the expense of New Jerseyans.
“Although we have had a difference of opinion with our colleagues in New York on congestion pricing, we have always had a productive relationship with our neighbors across the Hudson. I look forward to continuing that spirit of partnership for the benefit of the entire Tri-State Area.”
Congressman Josh Gottheimer, a vocal opponent of the tolling plan and a candidate to succeed Murphy, cheered the end of the “Congestion Tax.”
“Today is a huge win for Jersey families, their wallets, and the environment. From Day 1, when we first started this fight, we knew that the Congestion Tax was just a giant cash grab for New York and the MTA — all on the backs of hardworking Jersey families,” Gotthaimer said in a statement. “They never cared about how the tax would hurt Jersey families. They just needed the cash to pay for the MTA’s woeful mismanagement. That was just confirmed today, and now, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. I’ll never stop fighting to protect Jersey families. As I always say, don’t mess with Jersey. Screw with us, and you’ll find out why.”
“I am very happy the federal government got involved because New York was just saying to New Jersey, ‘Hey, listen, you are going to be the piggy bank for us.’ Well, that’s over,” Republican gubernatorial candidate Jon Bramnick said.
Congestion pricing just got started in January
The controversial program finally got started just last month, on Jan. 5, after years of debate and delays.
Hochul has defended the program, pointing to early MTA data showing the program has been working. In an analysis released near the end of January – the first month of the program – the MTA said 1 million fewer vehicles had entered the most congested parts of Manhattan, and that travel times on inbound bridges and tunnels had been reduced.
The move to halt the program is almost certainly going to set off a legal firestorm. It’s likely New York state and the MTA will sue to prevent the program from going off-line.
Prior to his election, Mr. Trump said he would “terminate” congestion pricing, and he has been under pressure from local members of Congress to do so. Malliotakis previously said Mr. Trump had “tasked the Department of Transportation to come up with options” for him to put a stop to the program.
Long road to congestion pricing
Congestion pricing’s road to implementation in New York City has been long. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed it back in 2007. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo moved the plan into law in 2019, and it overcame a host of subsequent legal challenges.
Just weeks before it was initially set to start in 2024, Hochul put the plan on pause, saying the $15 fee associated with it at the time was too high. She later “un-paused” the plan with a revised $9 fee for most drivers, and it launched in January.
It remains to be seen if the latest attempt to pause the plan will in fact grind it to a halt.
Read DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s letter
Check back soon for more on this developing story.
contributed to this report.
