Trump Administration Must Unfreeze Gateway Funds, Federal Judge Orders

A federal judge on Friday night ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze billions of dollars in funding for the Gateway rail tunnel project, a win for New York and New Jersey.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York said that “plaintiffs have adequately shown that the public interest would be harmed by a delay in a critical infrastructure project.”

The judge ordered both sides to meet and submit a joint letter addressing about half a dozen legal issues about the case by Feb. 11.

Neither the U.S. Department of Transportation nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment.

The ruling from Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, was cheered by officials in New York and New Jersey. New York Attorney General Letitia James called it a “critical victory” for workers in the two states.

New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement that “the order issued this evening should ensure that nearly 1,000 workers will be able to keep their jobs and continue their work on the Tunnel,” suggesting that construction could resume soon.

Work on the $16 billion Gateway project had paused Friday in connection to the Trump administration’s withholding of federal funds. Gateway is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country and when completed would construct a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York. The construction pause resulted in the immediate loss of around 1,000 construction jobs.

Earlier Friday, lawyers arguing on behalf of New Jersey and New York state urged Vargas to unfreeze the federal dollars. Friday’s hearing was part of one of two lawsuits both states recently filed against the Trump administration over the federal funds.

In October last year, near the beginning of last year’s 43-day government shutdown, DOT said it was pulling funds from the Gateway project, pending a review into whether diversity, equity and inclusion practices had played a role in selecting contractors for it.

Since then, President Donald Trump has said that the project is “terminated,” though he and his Transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, have given conflicting public statements on its status. Regardless, the agency in charge of building the tunnel has had to borrow money to keep construction going.

The Trump administration’s withholding of federal dollars to Gateway has infuriated Democrats from both New Jersey and New York. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier this week that the hold is “disgrace,” adding that Trump alone has control over whether the project gets its federal dollars or not.

POLITICO also reported earlier this week that Trump had wanted to have Washington Dulles International Airport and New York Penn station named after him as a condition of releasing the Gateway funding. Schumer declined that offer.