Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Release Funding for Hudson River Tunnels Project
A Manhattan federal judge has ruled in favor of the states of New York and New Jersey, ordering the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for the Gateway project, a massive $16 billion infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading the region's rail tunnels.
The decision came after a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of both states, who argued that the White House's decision to withhold the funds was unlawful and would cause significant economic harm. Judge Jeannette Vargas' order effectively bars the federal government from suspending funding for the project while the case is ongoing.
In her ruling, Vargas noted that delaying the project would "cause irreparable harm" to the public interest, with New Jersey attorney Shankar Duraiswamy having previously warned that a prolonged freeze would "torpedo" the entire endeavor. The Gateway project, which aims to build new Hudson River tunnels serving NJ Transit and Amtrak trains, has been put on hold since Trump's funding freeze came into effect.
The move is seen as a significant victory for workers and commuters in New York and New Jersey, who rely heavily on the existing infrastructure. Governor Kathy Hochul hailed the decision, stating that it will "protect this decision and move as soon as possible to get work back on track."
It emerged earlier on Friday that the White House had offered to unlock the funding in exchange for support from Democrats on a contentious bill related to renaming Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump. However, the judge's ruling has effectively blocked this deal.
Gateway officials have estimated that winding down operations at the five construction sites involved would be a complex and costly undertaking, requiring nearly a year of work and $15 million to $20 million per month to secure and monitor the sites. The project's organizers had announced the pause in funding due to exhausting a line of credit, but Judge Vargas' order has restored momentum to the initiative.
New York Attorney General Letitia James welcomed the decision, stating that it was a "critical victory for workers and commuters" who "depend on this project."
A Manhattan federal judge has ruled in favor of the states of New York and New Jersey, ordering the Trump administration to unfreeze funding for the Gateway project, a massive $16 billion infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading the region's rail tunnels.
The decision came after a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of both states, who argued that the White House's decision to withhold the funds was unlawful and would cause significant economic harm. Judge Jeannette Vargas' order effectively bars the federal government from suspending funding for the project while the case is ongoing.
In her ruling, Vargas noted that delaying the project would "cause irreparable harm" to the public interest, with New Jersey attorney Shankar Duraiswamy having previously warned that a prolonged freeze would "torpedo" the entire endeavor. The Gateway project, which aims to build new Hudson River tunnels serving NJ Transit and Amtrak trains, has been put on hold since Trump's funding freeze came into effect.
The move is seen as a significant victory for workers and commuters in New York and New Jersey, who rely heavily on the existing infrastructure. Governor Kathy Hochul hailed the decision, stating that it will "protect this decision and move as soon as possible to get work back on track."
It emerged earlier on Friday that the White House had offered to unlock the funding in exchange for support from Democrats on a contentious bill related to renaming Penn Station and Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump. However, the judge's ruling has effectively blocked this deal.
Gateway officials have estimated that winding down operations at the five construction sites involved would be a complex and costly undertaking, requiring nearly a year of work and $15 million to $20 million per month to secure and monitor the sites. The project's organizers had announced the pause in funding due to exhausting a line of credit, but Judge Vargas' order has restored momentum to the initiative.
New York Attorney General Letitia James welcomed the decision, stating that it was a "critical victory for workers and commuters" who "depend on this project."
I'M SO GLAD TO HEAR THAT THE FEDERAL JUDGE HAS ORDERED THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RELEASE THE FUNDING FOR THE HUDSON RIVER TUNNELS PROJECT!!! 
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING AND I KNOW HOW FRUSTRATING IT MUST HAVE BEEN FOR ALL THE WORKERS AND COMMUTERS IN NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY WHO RELY ON THIS PROJECT 
IT'S ABOUT TIME WE STARTED MOVING FORWARD ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS RATHER THAN GETTING STUCK IN RED TAPE 
like seriously can't believe this is finally happening!!! Trump's stupid funding freeze is GONE!!! 
my fave NYC/NJ combo is gonna be all happy now, getting those new tunnels up ASAP. cant wait to see the train schedules change and travel times get so much faster 
. and yay for Governor Hochul she's a total rockstar for fighting for this project! 
. like anyone's really surprised about this...the government's always doing stuff to slow down projects just 'cause they can't agree with whoever's in charge atm...the fact that the judge had to step in like an adult is kinda impressive, but what a waste of time & money...funding gets released & then what? The project still gotta get done. Just means more delays for everyone 
governor Hochul said its gonna protect the jobs & stuff & idk why they needed 2 name penn station & washington dulles airport after trump lol like wht does that even matter 
. anyway good riddance 2 the gov's tryin 2 hold everything back 
the feds and trump's crew have been pretty shady about this one from the start. but seriously, 16 billion bucks is a lot of money 
. now we just need to get some actual progress made on those tunnels 
anyways, glad some1's fightin 4 it now...Gateway project was meant 2 be done ages ago. commuters in NY & NJ gotta deal w/ this old infrastructure 4 years already 
But, on the other hand, I'm also thinking about all those workers and commuters who are counting on this project to get done... do they really deserve to be put in this situation? 
the thing is though, 16 billion for tunnels sounds crazy but think about it - we got like 10 million ppl living in that area so it's actually kinda necessary 
so yeah, I'm all for the judge making that ruling 
.
This is awesome news for everyone living in NYC/NJ! I mean, can you even imagine not having those new tunnels to make travel so much easier? It's crazy that the Trump admin tried to just freeze all the funding without thinking about how it would affect people. But now we got a judge who's like, "No way, fam!" 
and this decision is gonna get the project back on track. Let's give a huge cheer for Governor Hochul and everyone involved in making sure this happens! 
The fact that the judge ruled in favor of the states is just awesome - it shows that the system actually works and people are listening 
. Let's give it up for Governor Hochul, Attorney General James and everyone else who's been fighting for this project 
This is literally music to my ears! I mean, come on, $16 billion for infrastructure upgrades and we're talking about freezing funds because of some backroom deal? No thank you! The Gateway project was already delayed enough with the Trump admin's lack of support. It's crazy that they even tried to use it as leverage for something unrelated. But kudos to the attorneys general of NY & NJ for fighting for what's right. And btw, can we talk about how ridiculous it is that they had to offer to unlock funding in exchange for Democrats supporting a renaming bill? What's next? 
so i was talking to my mate from NYC the other day and he's been waiting for ages for those tunnels to get built... like, can you imagine trying to commute to work with all these people every day without a decent train system? 
So I think its kinda crazy that the feds just froze funding for the Hudson River tunnels project without even talking to the states first 
. And now its gonna cause some major headaches for the people who actually use those tunnels 
This ruling is like a sigh of relief for all those waiting for some progress on the Gateway project. I mean, can you imagine having to wait another year or so just because the feds decided to play hardball? The whole thing sounds super complicated and costly to shut down in the first place... 
. The White House trying to hold up funding in exchange for some sweet deal on airport names? 
give me a break. This is just another example of how politics can screw with real life decisions 