Gateway agency sues administration over cutting funding for project
NJ, NY are suing Trump administration
By: Colleen Wilson
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... The Trump administration is facing its second lawsuit in less than 24 hours over its withholding of $205 million in federal funds for construction of the $16 billion Gateway tunnel between New York and New Jersey.
.....
This lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the attorneys general of New Jersey and New York on February 3. [2026] The Gateway Development Commission, the bistate agency overseeing the largest federally funded infrastructure program in the country, filed its separate lawsuit February 2 [2026] in the U.S. count of Federal Claims.
..... "Every time the Trump administration gets involved, costs go up and working people suffer. The illegal attack on the Gateway tunnel is yet another example, New Jersey will not back down from this fight," New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said in a statement.
..... "Donald Trump's revenge tour on New York threatens to derail one of the most vital infrastructure projects this nation has built in generations, putting thousands of union jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits in jeopardy and threatening the commutes of 200,000 riders," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
.....
The project is hurtling toward a complete halt in construction on February 6 [2026] if money is not unfrozen, an agency officials have nearly exhausted a $500 million credit line they secured in October [2025] after Trump administration paused reimbursements on the project.
..... Trump appears to have made it a personal focus to delay and terminate the program during both of his presidential terms and reportedly has sued it as retribution ion various disputes with Democratic leadership including over the government shutdown in the fall [2025] and recently over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
..... The vast majority of the $16 billion price tag - which is paying for a 15-year program to construct a new two-track tunnel and rehabilitate the 116-year-old tunnel - is being paid for through a mixture of agreements involving federal grants and other sources. The Port Authority of New York and new Jersey is contributing about $2.6 billion. The state of New York and New Jersey are together contributing $1.64 billion.
..... New York, New Jersey and Amtrak are also responsible if the project goes over budget. The Gateway Commission estimates that it will cost between $15 million and $20 million a month to wind down protect sites, secure them and store heavy machinery. Plus, there could be other costs associated with delays in construction.
..... "The States are brining this lawsuit, separate from the lawsuit the Gateway Development Commission filed this week, [02/02/2026] because they are suffering their own independent harms. Ending federal funding would do more than just kill thousands of jobs and imperil the future commutes of hardworking New Jerseyans," the press release announcing the lawsuit said. "It would mean New Jersey and New York would need to incure significant new operating costs."
......
Nearly 1,000 mostly union workers will loss their jobs if constitution stops, and some 11,000 support staff also be lost.
..... "We have been trying to sue every single tool at our disposal, every lever that we have to have him change his mind from this incredibly self-destructive decision that he made to terminate the Gateway project," said U.S. Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey. "this is just a lose-lose. There is no benefit to this."
..... The Gateway commission and the two states in their respective lawsuits are seeking immediate relief from the court to unfreeze funding for the projects.
..... States have already had some success in getting favorable court decisions in other cases where funding was withheld by the Trump administration for federal programs, such as the national electric vehicle infrastructure grant program.
..... A judge in that case said the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure act when federal formula dollars were withheld; that same law is the focus of the lawsuit filed by New York and New Jersey.