In a brazen display of monarchical flair, former President Donald Trump declared himself the savior of New York on Wednesday, celebrating his administration’s decision to dismantle the city’s congestion pricing program with a regal proclamation: “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The move, which rescinded Biden-era approval of the tolling plan, has thrust Trump into another alliance with New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer—a Democratic gubernatorial candidate—as both rally against what they call a “cash grab” by New York’s “elite.”
Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, delivered the fatal blow to the program, calling it “a slap in the face to working-class Americans” in a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
The $9 toll, designed to reduce Manhattan traffic and fund transit upgrades, was lambasted as “backwards and unfair,” with Duffy arguing it punished commuters who “already paid for highways through gas taxes”
In a letter sent to the Democratic New York Governor the head of the U.S. Department of Transportation said the Federal Highway Administration was revoking its November stamp of approval for the tolling plan.
Trump’s victory lap found resonance in a twist that underscores the political chaos of the moment, as Rep. Josh Gottheimer, vying for New Jersey’s governorship, hailed the move as a “huge win for Jersey families,” lambasting the toll as a “giant cash grab for the MTA” at the expense of commuters.
“Don’t mess with Jersey,” warned Gottheimer, who vying for New Jersey’s Democratic nomination for governorship by echoing Trump’s combative rhetoric.
The alliance exposes fissures among Democrats, with Gottheimer attacking Hochul’s refusal to deactivate toll cameras: “If New York insists on keeping the cameras in place, they should reimburse every Jersey commuter!”
Meanwhile, progressive critics like Lisa McCormick slammed Gottheimer for aligning with Trump and advocating a “Soprano State version of trickle-down Reaganomics,” accusing both of prioritizing optics over policy.
An ardent environmentalist who challenged disgraced former US Senator Bob Menendez in the 2018 Democratic primary election, McCormick said Trump and Gottheimer are cowards for refusing to make changes necessary to combat climate change and and reduce air pollution.
Hochul, flanked by MTA officials at Grand Central Terminal, vowed to defy Trump’s decree.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber touted early successes: a 9% drop in vehicles entering Manhattan, faster emergency response times, and a surge in Broadway attendance.
Trump’s monarchical imagery ignited fury among activists. The grassroots coalition Build the Resistance condemned his “authoritarian playbook,” while protesters likened the move to a “coup against democracy” [citation: user context]. Legal experts, however, questioned the administration’s authority to revoke the program post-implementation, noting the MTA’s prior court victories
“New York hasn’t labored under a king in 250 years, and we sure as hell aren’t starting now,” declared Hochul, announcing a federal lawsuit to preserve the program.
Yet opponents, including Staten Island’s Vito Fossella and Nassau County’s Bruce Blakeman, cheered the toll’s demise, calling it an “oppressive tax” on suburbanites 1113. Even New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy—a Democrat—thanked Trump for halting a plan he claimed “unfairly targeted” his constituents 914.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” said Duffy, a former reality television personality who President Donald Trump selected as a member of his Cabinet and 14th in the presidential line of succession.
Duffy was confirmed by the Senate in a 77-22 vote to be in charge of the Transportation Department’s more than 55,000 employees who oversee the nation’s rail, transit and other infrastructure, with a budget of roughly $110 billion available to him.
In his first act in office on January 29, Duffy rescinded all existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that regulate how far vehicles must travel on a gallon of fuel and he eliminated electric vehicle incentives.
Those standards would have saved consumers nearly $23 billion in fuel costs and avoid the consumption of about 70 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050. They also would have prevented more than 710 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, reduce air pollution, and cut the country’s dependence on oil.
Also on his first full day as U.S. Transportation Secretary, Duffy faced an unprecedented crisis when American Airlines Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet operated by PSA Airlines, collided mid-air with a U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.
The crash, which occurred at 8:47 p.m. ET, killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft (64 passengers/crew on the jet, 3 soldiers on the helicopter), marking the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001 and the first major commercial crash since 2009.
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