NEW YORK — The Gateway Development Commission, overseer of the Northeast Corridor’s Hudson Tunnel Project, has sued the Trump administration over its withholding of project funds, which could cause construction to stop at the end of this week.
The suit filed Monday, Feb. 2, in the Court of Federal Claims, says the Department of Transportation has breached its obligations “by repeatedly failing to timely reimburse GDC for project costs without identifying any contractual basis for withholding funds.” That breach, the suit says, “has jeopardized the project, threatened the livelihoods of the countless workers employed in its construction, endangered passengers who must rely on decaying, century-old rail infrastructure, and undermined the United States’ reputation as a reliable contracting party.”
The commission — a partnership of the states of New York and New Jersey — said last week that without the federal funds, it would be forced to halt construction as of Feb. 6, laying off about 1,000 workers, shutting down the project [see “Hudson Tunnel project could halt …,” Trains.com, Jan. 28, 2026].
The DOT originally said it halted funding last fall while it reviewed contracts in regard to the project’s Disadvantage Business Enterprise program. The commission says it has provided documentation that it is in compliance with current regulations, which changed under an executive order issued last year.
But the most recent comments by the administration indicate the funding is being withheld as part of the dispute with Democrats over immigration policy, with a White House spokesman saying last week, “There is nothing stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track.”
The suit seeks $205 million in delayed disbursements and damages that will be incurred if construction is paused or contracts are terminated.
“Our goal has always been to work with our federal partners and get funding flowing again,” Commission CEO Tom Prendergast said in a press release. “At the same time, we must hold the federal government to its contractual obligations so that construction is not halted. It’s our responsibility to fight for the nation’s most urgent infrastructure project and the nearly 1,000 workers whose jobs are threatened.”
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Typical 47. The mobster doing what mobsters do. This is not about policy. Corruption reigns.