Democrats Cheer as the Trump Administration Finally Disperses Gateway Tunnel Funds

The Trump administration on Wednesday unfroze more than $100 million allocated for a massive rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey, prompting Democrats who rallied behind the project to declare victory.

The decision to finally make the Gateway Tunnel funds available to local authorities came after a federal judge ruled earlier this month that the administration must distribute the funds — and a phone call that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she shared with the president this week.

“Following our preliminary court victory and my conversation with the President, the Trump Administration has released the remaining $127 million in overdue Gateway Tunnel funding,” Hochul posted on X Wednesday morning.

Construction on the project is expected to resume next week, the Gateway Development Commission said Wednesday.

The Gateway Tunnel’s federal funding, a key part of the $16 billion project, had been withheld since October of last year by the Trump administration over claims that New York had engaged in diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

At the time, Democrats decried it as a political retaliation.

“It’s horrible. He’s selectively thinking he’s using it to target New York or Democrats, but this is something that’s important not just to the city and state of New York but to surrounding states, to our economy,” Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat who represents part of Queens, told NOTUS.

Both the Gateway Development Commission — the entity in charge of the construction — and New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the administration over the pause in federal funding this year.

Earlier this month, James, along with New Jersey’s attorney general, temporarily secured the funding.

“This funding freeze was unlawful from the start. We took swift action in court, and now every dollar that was illegally withheld has been released,” a press release from James’ office said. “New York and New Jersey received the remaining nearly $130 million owed for the Gateway Project, finally unlocking all the funding that had been frozen.”

New York Democrats turned to social media to celebrate on Wednesday, characterizing the funding as a major victory for the party over Trump.

“This is a huge win for New York, New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of commuters, thousands of union workers, and the economy of the entire region,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X.

“Gateway has suffered from political delays, but today’s progress shows that when we fight for our communities, we get results,” New York Rep. Jerry Nadler said.

While the win is significant for New York and New Jersey, most officials have also been issuing caution.

“We will remain vigilant to ensure this funding continues uninterrupted, so that workers and commuters are never again left in limbo by the president’s targeted and unlawful whims,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said in a statement.

Trump addressed the back-and-forth over Gateway Tunnel funding in a Truth Social post on Monday, notably softening his tone on the project while claiming that reports stating he asked for New York’s Penn Station to be renamed after him were false — the name change was indeed floated during a recent White House meeting, but it was not his idea, Trump wrote.

“The naming of PENN Station … to TRUMP STATION, was brought up by certain politicians and construction union heads, not me – IT IS JUST MORE FAKE NEWS! NO COST OVERRUNS!!!” the president’s post read.