Trump Administration Tells Judge It Will Release Gateway Funding
Source: New York Times
Federal funding for the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel between New York City and New Jersey, which had been suspended for more than four months, began to flow again on Friday after lawyers for the Trump administration told a federal judge on Friday that it would comply with her orders.
The suspension had left the government owing about $205 million to the tunnel’s planners, the Gateway Development Commission, and forced a halt to work on the project last week, as well as the layoff of about 1,000 union workers, the commission said.
The federal government had pledged more than $11 billion toward the tunnel project, which has been billed as the most urgent major infrastructure project in the United States. But at the end of September, administration officials said they would stop the flow of that funding while they reviewed the project’s contracts for compliance with revised federal regulations.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration shifted its explanation for the prolonged suspension of funds. In discussions with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, President Trump suggested that he would release the funds in exchange for support of the renaming of two transportation hubs — Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan — after him, people familiar with those talks said.....
In a hearing before Judge Vargas on Friday afternoon, lawyers for the government said that about $30 million of the overdue payments was on its way to the commission and the rest should be paid by early next week. Delivery would be delayed by the need to relay the funds through the Treasury Department and the fact that Monday is a federal holiday, the lawyers said.
Just before 5 p.m., Mr. Schumer said that the commission had received the first chunk of the money.
“The first $30 million of federal funding for Gateway has arrived and we eagerly await the remaining money to be sent as quickly as possible so construction can resume,” Mr. Schumer said.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/nyregion/gateway-tunnel-funding-ny-nj-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.L1A.TvT3.r0-1U6wwx7rc&smid=nytcore-android-share
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