NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- A federal judge ruled the Trump administration must continue providing federal funds for the $16 billion Gateway tunnel under the Hudson River, saying that stopping the payments “flagrantly” violated the law.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas said Monday that President Donald Trump’s Department of Transportation failed to follow proper procedures when it froze the funding over a DOT rule that bans race or gender-based contracting requirements. The judge previously put a temporary halt on the funding suspension that began in October for one of the biggest US infrastructure projects.
In her ruling, Vargas cited comments that Trump made last October about Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer amid a government shutdown, saying: “We’re cutting a $20 billion project that Schumer fought for 15 years to get, and I’m cutting the project. The project is gonna be dead.”
Vargas granted a motion sought by New York and New Jersey, whose governors applauded the ruling in New York federal court.
“We are grateful that a federal court has once again agreed that the Trump Administration’s decision to freeze billions of dollars in grants for the Gateway Tunnel Project is flagrantly unlawful,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill in a statement. “This victory sends a clear message: the Trump Administration’s attempt to halt Gateway funding will not stand.”
Gateway Development Commission, the project developer, said it has made “significant progress” on the tunnel since the resumption of funding in February. “We will continue working with our federal partners to maintain access to funding so we can keep workers on the job and this nationally important project moving forward,” said Catherine Rinaldi, a GDC executive vice president.
Requests to comment sent to the Department of Justice weren’t immediately returned.The case is State of New Jersey and State of New York v US Department of Transportation, 26-cv-939, US District Court, Southern District of New York.
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