President Donald Trump took to social media to slam the Gateway Tunnel rail project as a “boondoggle” that he said, without evidence, would run billions of dollars over budget.
The president’s post, on his social media site Truth Social, comes as his administration continues to withhold most federal funding for the massive infrastructure project. The comments come days after his administration paid the first portion of $205 million in reimbursements it owes to the GDC for the project, equalling $30 million.
“I am opposed to the future boondoggle known as “Gateway,” in New York/New Jersey, because it will cost many BILLIONS OF DOLLARS more than projected or anticipated,” Trump wrote, offering no evidence to support his claim.
Trump compared Gateway, which will replace a decaying train tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River, to California’s project to build a high-speed train between Los Angeles to the Bay Area. He had similarly stripped that effort of federal funding last summer, with his administration citing the project’s ballooning cost as one of its reasons, according to a published report.
“Gateway will likewise be financially catastrophic for the region unless the work and proper planning is done, NOW, to avoid insurmountable future cost overruns,” Trump wrote. “Please let this statement represent the fact that, under no circumstances, will the federal government be responsible for ANY COST OVERRUNS — NOT ONE DOLLAR.”
In response, Gov. Kathy Hochul spokesperson Sean Butler said: “Great news for President Trump: the federal government is already off the hook for any cost overruns on Gateway and before funding was illegally suspended, this project had been a tremendous success, moving perfectly on time and on budget.”
The Gateway Development Commission — the group leading construction on the project — declined to comment on Trump’s post. A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Department of Transportation released some of the Gateway funding on Friday evening in response to a federal judge ordering it, a week earlier, to fund the project for a brief period.
The judge’s ruling arose from a suit brought by the New York and New Jersey Attorneys General, Letitia James and Jennifer Davenport, seeking to unfreeze the funds. The feds had to begin paying the funds despite appealing the judge’s decision because the Second Circuit Court of Appeals declined to rule last week, instead kicking the decision to a motions panel.
Trump’s administration first froze funding for the project in October, citing the need to review its compliance with new rules governing contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses. It continued withholding the funding through Feb. 6, the date by which GDC officials said they were no longer able to fund construction, which led the commission to shut down the project’s five work sites on that date.
The project’s proponents have sounded the alarm about the 1,000 jobs lost in the immediate aftermath of the work stoppage, as well as broader impacts that could stem from a longer-term pause. Those include the tunnel shutting down, snarling travel between the Empire and Garden States, while potentially damaging the regional and national economies.
In his post, Trump also sought to dispel reports that he would release all of the Gateway funding if Democratic Congressional leaders, most notably U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, agreed to slap his name on Penn Station.
“The naming of PENN Station (I love Pennsylvania but it is a direct competitor to New York, and ‘eating New York’s lunch!’ to Trump Station, was brought up by certain politicians and construction union heads, not me,” he claimed.
