Federal Judge Halts Trump's Efforts Against NYC Congestion Pricing
A federal judge in Manhattan has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Transportation from retaliating against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) following the agency's decision to maintain tolls for congestion pricing. This ruling serves to neutralize much of the leverage previously held by the Trump administration to terminate the tolling program, which was implemented on January 5. The program currently charges a daytime fee of $9 for vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
The ruling came from U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, who issued a temporary restraining order, effectively halting the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to dismantle the congestion pricing initiative. In the latest warning issued by the Federal Highway Administration, the MTA was given a deadline of May 28 to cease the tolling or face significant cuts to both city and state highway funding.
Judge Liman emphasized that the federal government is prohibited from withholding any of these funds until the ongoing lawsuit filed by the MTA regarding the toll program is resolved. In the courtroom, MTA attorney Roberta Kaplan argued that the federal government could not retract approval for the congestion pricing, noting that it represented an agreement for cooperation with New York state, independent of the current presidential administration.
“It would be a recipe for chaos,
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