Team Trump to NY: Stop Congestion Pricing by March 21

UPDATE Feb 27, 2025 6:01 AM CST

The battle over New York City's congestion pricing plan continues. President Trump's administration has given New York until next month to comply with its order, reports the AP. The Federal Highway Administration said the $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan neighborhoods south of Central Park must end by March 21, per a Feb. 20 letter sent to New York officials. In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul dated Feb. 19 and cited by the Guardian, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy backed up his boss, telling Hochul the program "exceeds the authority authorized by Congress." State officials, however, vow to continue the toll program, meant to thin traffic and pump new revenue into the nation's busiest transit system. "We will not be steamrolled here in New York," Hochul said at an MTA board meeting Wednesday. "We're in this fight together, and I'm in this as long as it takes."

Feb 19, 2025 7:30 PM CST

After his administration rescinded federal approval of New York City's congestion pricing plan, President Trump didn't hold back on Truth Social. "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD," he declared in a post Wednesday afternoon. "Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!" White House officials ran with the "king" part of the remark, with the official White House account on X posting an illustration of Trump wearing a crown, the Hill reports. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul fired back with a statement saying, "We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king."

The Metropolitan Transit Authority, which planned to improve the transit system with revenue from the first-in-the-nation plan, "has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program," Hochul said in a statement posted on X. "We'll see you in court."

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"New York hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years. And we sure as hell are not going to start now," the Democratic governor said at a press conference, per amNY. "We're in fight mode within seconds of us getting this notification. Our MTA was prepared; we knew this could come," she said. NBC New York reports that the head of the MTA and the governor's legal counsel say the tolls will remain in place unless a federal judge issues an order. (More congestion pricing stories.)