Judge blocks Trump administration effort to halt congestion pricing

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A federal judge Tuesday granted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's request for a temporary restraining order blocking the U.S. Department of Transportation from withholding the state's federal funds as a court battle over congestion pricing program plays out.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman's temporary restraining order allows the controversial toll program to remain in place until the order expires on June 9.

The judge said New York State "would suffer irreparable harm" without a restraining order against the Trump administration, according to reports.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in April threatened to withhold federal highway funds from New York City if Gov. Kathie Hochul, a Democrat, does not halt Manhattan's congestion-pricing plan. Hochul said she won't shutter the program unless ordered to by a judge.

Duffy's letter to Hochul came after the state failed to halt the tolls by the April 20 deadline, given when the administration terminated the program in February. The DOT floated a fresh deadline of May 21 for the state's transportation department to either shut it down or show why it's not a violation of federal law. Tuesday's ruling came just ahead of a third deadline of Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the program, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York in February following the DOT's order to shut down the program. The city and state transportation departments, and New York City itself, joined the lawsuit, as did nonprofits Riders Alliance and Sierra Club.

Liman granted the MTA's request for a temporary restraining order following oral arguments from both sides in federal court Tuesday morning. The case, which will turn on the extent of the DOT's authority, is set to be heard this summer.

Approved under the Biden administration, the cordon pricing program launched in January marked the first of its kind in the U.S. Proceeds from the $9 toll on most drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street are to back $15 billion of bonds to pay for New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's capital projects.

The program was beset with lawsuits before Hochul abruptly halted the program last June citing concerns about cost. She resurrected the program in November with lower tolls than originally planned. Hochul and the MTA raced to begin the program before Trump's inauguration.

The Trump administration canceled the agreement authorizing the program in February, saying it violates federal law because there's no toll-free alternative, drivers already paid for the roads with federal taxes, and because the tolls raise revenue for the city's transit system as opposed to the need to reduce congestion.