Sherrill's prosecution of Trump begins over tunnel project

By: Charles Stile
Political Stile
USA Today Network

..... For most of his time in Trenton, Phil Murphy treated Donald Trump with kid-gloves diplomacy.
..... The ex-ambassador refused to publicly tangle with the Bane of Bedminster, hoping that the petulant president would reward him for his tact.
..... His successor, Governor Mikie Sherrill, has made it clear that she has other ideas.
..... Instead of courting the Donald over dinner at his golf club in Bedminster, Sherrill is taking him to court, concerned that New jersey's historic Big Dig project could be big empty Gash near Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen. The $16 billion Gateway tunnel project could indefinitely stall because Trump is playing "politics" with the funding, apparently eyeing it as leverage to force Democrats in Congress to back off demands to impose limits on the Department of Homeland Security's funding and management of its immigration force. Trump is also trying to lever New York and New Jersey to discard labor rules that incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion.
..... If a federal judge fails to intercede, the funding could run out as early as Friday February 6. [2026]
..... Sherrill had no time for flattery or even persuasion, although she said she spoke to the president about Gateway last week. [01/29/2026] It's clear that he listened and then blew her off. So now, she;s breaking the galls and suing him - in search of emergency relief in federal court. The candidate known for squishy, word-saldady answers is now a governor in Trump's grill.
..... "In our region, it's all about jobs. It's about families. It's about the economy." Sherrill said in front of a bank of news cameras from New York television stations, the outlets that once chronicled the tabloid rise of trump as a playboy Manhattan developer. "Unfortunately for President Trump, it's just about politics. It's him using this in any way possible to hold up progress in a political fight. and as usual, whenever he gets involved, costs go up and New Jersey get hurt."
..... This was blunt talk infused with frustration. Sherrill accused Trump of holding funding "hostage" and constantly "moving the goalposts." So she is now seeking remedy in the one arena hat has served as the last backstop against Trump's nonstop trampling of constitutional guardrails and norms.
..... She was joined by er attorney general nominee, Jennifer Davenport, who filed the lawsuit in conjunction with New York state. Davenport also didn't mince words.
..... Trump "publicly announced Gateway is 'terminated' because the Democrats are so foolish, and added that, 'There is no funding because it's up to me,'" Davenport said. "This should offend every American, and it's probably pretty hard to hear if you're scheduled to lose your job this weekend. [02/07-08/2026] Once again, the president has pocked a fight he will not win."

Sherrill had no choice

..... Murphy tired to pet the bear; Sherrill is poking it. but she may not have had a realistic alternative.
..... If political life had a semblance of normalcy, two massive boring drills would be nestled by now inside a 60-foot-wide construction trench near Tonnelle Avenue, aiming straight for the Palisades and the bedrock of the Hudson.
..... The site would be humming with activity and the promise of a new rail tunnel for the 21st century. It is the site of the largest infrastructure project in the United States.
..... but because of Trump's of toxic politics, hat site could be idle by Friday. [02/06/2026] No heavy equipment buzzing, no milling of busy hard hats in yellow vests, no money. and it could go on indefinitely. how could Sherrill justify sitting silently as that trench becomes an empty guich collecting debris and surrounded by "Keep Out: signs, an echo of Trump's failed history of glitter and easy money along the Atlantic City boardwalk? the courtroom is the only place that has managed to put some restraints on him.
..... Of course, attacking Trump runs its risks.
..... She could suddenly fall within his cross-hairs. Sherrill could wake up any morning and find herself the target of one of his dark-night-of-the-soul Truth Social screeds. he could come up with a schoolyard nickname, which he tried work-shopping during a tele-rally for her Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli, without much success.
..... "Mikie, as they call her - the only thing she's got is an unusual name. Other Thant that, she's terrible," Trump complained.

Punishing Democrats

..... The Gateway project has been tortured by Trumpian negotiating tactics since the fall, [2025] when administration officials ordered an audit of minority-owned contrast to make sure they complied with constitutional standards. but nobody brought that excuse. The president shut down the funding in a fit of pique at Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, two New Yorkers, who had dug in their heels over the federal government funding flap last fall. [2025]
..... But now his animus is taking on a wider-aspect, Gateway is now part of his ongoing war against Democrats, a general Screw-the-Blue strategy that includes deploying his immigration militia into mostly blue cities; demanding a review of federal funding for 14 democratic-controlled states, including New Jersey; and suggesting that the federal government should seize control of elections in mostly Democratic cities. Setting political scores is Trump's modus operandi, not policy or a broader civic purpose.
..... "It is evident from the President's and White House's statements, as well as the timing and manner of DOT's ultimate suspension of funding, that this action was a politically motivated attempt to punish and coerce those with whom the Resident disagree," the suit says.
..... Sherrill pledged during her campaign last fall [2025] to be a check on Trump, and now she has made herself the face of anti-Trump resistance.
..... The days of dining at Bedminster are over. And in this sense, Sherrill is plunging into uncharted waters.
..... This week, [02/06/2026] with he federal money running out, - and the threat of New Jersey picking up the tab - Sherrill took a preemptive strike and place the blame squarely on Trump just in case all those hard-hat, blue-collar workers who are depending on their Gateway paychecks start looking for scapegoats.
..... Some who signed on to his "Make America Great Again: slogan may just wonder why he's making their lives so uncertain again.

..... Email stile@northjersy.com

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