President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has terminated a New York City tolling program through which residents faced massive fees to enter the Central Business District.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul announcing the end of the program, which slammed everyday New Yorkers with $9 tolls when traveling in their passenger vehicles to Manhattan.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy told Hochul.
“Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes,” he continued.
“But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair.”
Duffy noted that the massive fees were harmful to small businesses in New York City that have customers in nearby New Jersey and Connecticut.
“Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means,” Duffy added. “It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few.”
Highways financed using federal dollars are usually not allowed to require tolls, according to the Department of Transportation.
Do you think Kathy Hochul will be re-elected in 2026?
Yes: 5% (2 Votes)
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Former President Joe Biden had waived that policy for Hochul, but the Trump administration reversed the move.
Trump also announced his decision in a Truth Social post.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,” he declared. “Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
–President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/IMr4tq0sMB— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 19, 2025
Hochul reacted poorly to the loss of her obscene tolls, lashing out strongly against Trump’s remark by saying on social media, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king.”
She announced that New York City’s transit authority “has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program.”
“We’ll see you in court,” Hochul shot back at Trump.
We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. pic.twitter.com/PikwB5OwnM
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 19, 2025
Trump’s declaration of himself as king may have been motivated by a tinge of pride, or may simply be a troll to provoke the exact sort of reaction we saw from Hochul.
In any case, the irony is that Hochul is herself acting like a monarch by unilaterally imposing burdensome taxes on her own people.
In this situation, Trump is more of a Robin Hood, standing up for the everyday New Yorker and subverting the whims of the tyrant that rules over them.
The other irony is that Hochul is up for re-election next year and nevertheless pursued the deeply unpopular policy.
Trump may have saved her neck.
If anything, rather than filing a lawsuit, she should be thanking him.
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