Amid Trump’s threats, judge greenlights NYC congestion toll

MANHATTAN (CN) — The Trump administration cannot impose sanctions on New York for refusing to shut off its pilot congestion pricing program, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Those sanctions could have started as early as Wednesday, as the administration has threatened to withhold funding for transit projects throughout Manhattan and the state of New York. But U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman granted state transit agencies a temporary restraining order that allows congestion pricing to continue until June 9 without repercussions.

The tolling program is slated to raise $1 billion per year for New York City’s aging transit infrastructure by charging most cars a $9 daily toll to enter Manhattan’s central business district during peak hours.

Attorney Roberta Kaplan, who represents those agencies in a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, told Liman on Tuesday that allowing the government to take the “radical” step of terminating the program would be “a recipe for chaos.”

Doing so, Kaplan argued, “would give the government the unilateral right to terminate any contract they enter into,” since the project received federal approval under the last administration.

Liman agreed, acknowledging the potential risk of future plaintiffs having policies “pulled out from under their feet” when a new administration takes over.

The Donald Trump-appointed judge found that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy lacked the authority to order the program’s cancellation. And even if he did have that power, Liman said that his reasons for terminating the toll “rested on errors of law and are arbitrary and capricious.”

Justice Department lawyer Charles Roberts unsuccessfully argued that the prior administration approved congestion pricing “in a rush” last year to avoid friction from the impending Trump presidency. But Liman rejected that claim, telling Roberts that the government is looking to shake up an agreement that has already been reached.

“They’re quite comfortable with the status quo,” Liman said of the state transit agencies. “Your client wants to change the status quo, as I understand it.”

The bench ruling bars the Trump administration from taking steps to terminate congestion pricing, including by “withholding federal funds, approvals and authorizations” as a punishment against New York until June 9.

For the next two weeks, Liman will consider extending that ruling into a preliminary injunction, which would protect congestion pricing for the remainder of these court proceedings.

President Trump has long had New York City’s first-in-the-nation toll in his sights and vowed to kill it on the campaign trail. His Department of Transportation on Feb. 19ordered that it must be stopped, calling it a “slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”

State transit agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, quickly sued in response, claiming that Trump was breaking the law to stop a lawful state policy they simply didn’t like.

Since then, New York has been committed to maintaining congestion pricing, unless the court orders it to be shut down. Last month, Duffy gave the state “one last chance” to end the toll by May 21 or face “serious consequences” — including rejecting federal approvals for all Manhattan transit projects — starting as soon as May 28.

It has been a contentious political issue since its implementation earlier this year. However, early data from the toll indicate that it has been successful in raising funds and reducing traffic congestion and pollution in Manhattan.

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