NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to resume funding for a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, a ruling that comes as construction on the massive infrastructure project is about to be halted.
Months ago, the administration announced it was ending $16 billion in support for the program, citing what was then a government shutdown and what a senior federal budget official said were concerns about unconstitutional spending surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion principles.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in Manhattan granted requests from New York and New Jersey for a temporary restraining order barring the government from withholding funds while the states seek a preliminary injunction to keep funds flowing during court proceedings.
“The Court also believes that without an injunction, Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiffs have sufficiently shown that delays in critical infrastructure projects will harm the public interest.”
The White House and the U.S. Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday evening.
New York Attorney General Letitia James called the ruling “a major victory for workers and commuters in New York and New Jersey.”
“I am grateful that the court acted quickly to stop this senseless funding freeze that threatened to derail projects our entire region relies on,” James said in a statement. “The Hudson Tunnel Project is one of the most important infrastructure projects in the United States, and we will continue to work to ensure construction can continue without unnecessary federal interference.”
The Gateway Development Commission, the group overseeing the project, had said work would stop late Friday afternoon due to a federal funding freeze, resulting in the immediate loss of about 1,000 jobs, with thousands more to come.
It’s unclear when work will resume. “Once funding becomes available, we will quickly resume on-site operations and get our workers back to work,” the council said in an overnight statement.
The new tunnel is designed to relieve pressure on the more than 110-year-old existing tunnel that connects New York and New Jersey and is used by Amtrak and commuter trains, and delays could cause backups up and down the East Coast.
New York and New Jersey filed lawsuits this week over the funding freeze, as did the Gateway Development Commission in an attempt to restore support from the Trump administration.
The suspension is seen as a way for the Trump administration to pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who the White House has blamed for last year’s government shutdown. A few weeks later, the shutdown was resolved.
Speaking to the media aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked about reports that Schumer would unfreeze funding for the tunnel project if he agrees to plans to rename New York’s Penn Station and Virginia’s Dulles International Airport after Trump.
“Chuck Schumer suggested to me that the name of Penn Station be changed to Trump Station. Dulles Airport is indeed independent,” Trump responded.
Schumer responded on social media: “Absolute lies. He knows it. Everyone knows it. There is only one person who can restart this project, and he can restart it with the snap of his fingers.”
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office earlier told a judge at a hearing on the states’ lawsuit in Manhattan that states need “emergency relief” because of the harm and costs that would occur if the project were to stop.
“There really is a gaping hole in the earth in North Bergen,” he said, referring to the New Jersey city, claiming that abandoning the sites, even temporarily, “would pose a significant threat to safety and public health.”
The problem with the shutdown now, Duraiswamy said, is that even a brief stoppage will lead to longer delays because workers will be laid off and taken on other jobs, and it will be difficult to mobilize quickly again if funding becomes available. And, he added, “any prolonged cessation of funding could derail the project.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Schwartz, who is defending the government, disagreed with what state attorneys described as a “march of terror.”
She noted that states have not even specified how long the Gateway Development Board can maintain the sites. So, the bench asked Duraiswamy, who said they could maintain the sites for weeks or even months, but states would continue to suffer irreparable harm because trains would continue to be delayed because they relied on outdated tunnels.
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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.
