Gateway Gets $30m In Frozen Funds, With More To Come

The Gateway rail tunnel project has yet to receive the full $205 million in reimbursements it is owed from the Trump administration, two people familiar with the matter told POLITICO, but the administration is working to get the money out the door.

Construction on the project between New York and New Jersey has been paused since Feb. 6. Gateway Development Corporation has gotten $30 million so far. The project is expected to receive the total sum by Wednesday, the people said.

Molly Beckhardt, a spokesperson for Gateway, confirmed receipt of the $30 million and said that while construction is currently paused the hope is to get workers back on the job as soon as possible.

"We have received an initial disbursement of $30 million from the federal government and expect to receive the full $205 million in reimbursement funds," she said in a statement. "Construction remains paused for now, and we are working with our contractors to plan how to deploy these funds in the most effective way and get workers back on the job to resume some construction as soon as possible.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been pushing to unfreeze the funding, criticized President Donald Trump for halting the funds in the first place.

“These Gateway funds were appropriated by Congress and committed by contract, and they never should have been cut off by President Trump," Schumer said in a statement. "The first $30 million has been sent, and we eagerly await the rest of the money to be sent as quickly as possible so construction can resume."

U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette Vargas directed the Trump administration to file a status report by 3 p.m. Tuesday on their efforts to transfer the money to Gateway, the people added.

The move comes after Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and Jennifer Davenport, the acting attorney general for New Jersey, called for an emergency hearing Friday afternoon.

Davenport cheered the news that funding had begun flowing again: "Because of our efforts, the Department of Transportation is finally delivering the Gateway project funds it has been unlawfully freezing for months. When we fight, we win. We will always stand up for the Gateway project, for New Jerseyans, and for our workers from attacks out of Washington, D.C.”

DOT said in a statement that it is "following the court order." The Trump administration froze federal funds for Gateway at the end of September, citing concerns over diversity, equity and inclusion practices.