Judge hits pause on Gateway funding

Funding for the Gateway tunnel’s construction could remain frozen through Thursday afternoon as the White House appeals a ruling requiring the Trump administration to resume funding the monumental project.  

On Friday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to continue funding construction of the rail project, which will connect New Jersey and Manhattan. But on Monday, the White House informed the court that it would appeal the ruling to a federal appeals circuit; District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas gave the Trump administration a stay from her order, meaning funding does not have to be resumed as the appeal makes its way through the system. 

The administrative stay lasts until Thursday at 5 p.m. New Jersey and New York filed a joint lawsuit last week alleging that the White House illegally froze funding for the project.

New York and New Jersey have since asked Vargas to cancel her stay, saying even three more days without funding could cause financial harm to the project and the states.

“Since Friday, there has already been suspended work, layoffs, and furloughs. And the impact of project delays will only get worse with each passing day. Plaintiffs contend that this irreparable harm outweighs the Government’s interest in paying the overdue money to [the Gateway Development Commission].”

In September, the Trump administration froze funding for the $16 billion bipartisan project to review “unconstitutional DEI principles,” but did little to specify what exactly was under review. Leaders of the project, known as Gateway, looked to the Trump administration for guidance, but they say no such guidance came.

The Gateway Development Commission, a bi-state agency leading the construction efforts, received a line of credit that lasted months, but funds ran out last Friday. At 5 p.m., workers halted construction. Vargas ruled that the White House should resume funding as this case continues through adjudication, but the stay temporarily prevents that.

Last Thursday, Punchbowl News reported that President Donald Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that he would release the funding if Schumer helped rename Dulles International Airport in D.C. and New York’s Penn Station after Trump. Schumer declined.

Schumer and Gov. Mikie Sherrill rallied at a construction site in North Bergen on Monday, calling on the White House to resume funding. They said that if Gateway is terminated, the rail artery between New Jersey and Manhattan will rest upon the 116-year-old North River Tunnel, which could face structural stress in the coming years.

“If this tunnel were to collapse … there’ll be a recession, a depression, in New York, New Jersey, and all across America,” Schumer said. “We are not going to let that happen.”