A New York federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from shutting down congestion pricing – or following through on threats to withhold funds and approvals from other New York transportation projects, in retaliation for refusing to end the toll. A ruling on May 27, by Judge Lewis Liman of the Southern District of New York, protects the MTA and New York from punitive action by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy until at least June 9. The order also prevents the Trump administration from taking any steps to shut down congestion pricing.
The order means congestion pricing will stay in effect as the MTA’s lawsuit against the Trump administration’s order to end the program continues. Liman said he issued the temporary order while he takes additional time to consider a longer-lasting injunction that would block the Trump administration from taking steps to end congestion pricing or to retaliate against New York and the MTA.
Liman said he believes the MTA would face “irreparable harm” and “suffer budget uncertainty” if the federal government takes immediate action to end congestion pricing or otherwise retaliate against the agency. Liman argued that it would “undermine the authority of a sovereign state” to implement policies put forward by Democratically-elected officials.
The ruling does not resolve the MTA’s broader lawsuit, which argues that Duffy violated federal law when he ordered the agency in February to shut down congestion pricing. Attorneys for the MTA and U.S. DOT had previously agreed to a court schedule that would resolve the case by October, but in an April 21 letter Duffy threatened to withhold federal funds and approvals to transportation projects in New York beginning May 28, if the MTA didn’t shut down the toll.
Charles Roberts, a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice, said the federal government has the right to change its mind and end a program enacted under a previous administration. In the case of congestion pricing, the Biden administration issued a final federal approval for the toll.
Roberta Kaplan, an attorney for the MTA, called the approach the federal government is taking under Trump “radical” and a “recipe for chaos,” if one administration can change its mind about approval given by a previous one.
If the argument is successful in court, it could have a chilling effect on states and cities pursuing major infrastructure projects that rely on cooperation from the federal government. If the MTA is forced to end congestion pricing, it would have to somehow pay for roughly $1.4 billion in debt it has already issued off of the toll, according to Kevin Willens, the MTA’s chief financial officer.
Source: Crain’s New York Business
