Federal judge keeps congestion pricing alive
Editor’s note: On Wednesday, May 28, a federal court granted New York’s motion for preliminary injunction. This effectively extends the conditions of the temporary restraining order detailed below until a final ruling on the case is reached, which is expected toward the end of this year.
A federal judge in New York has barred the Trump administration from taking action against the state for not ending congestion pricing, allowing the cameras to stay on without repercussions.
On Tuesday, May 27, Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority a temporary restraining order after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to pull funding if it did not terminate congestion pricing tolling. The order expires on June 9.
Liman’s order handcuffs the Trump administration’s ability to take punitive action against New York for not complying with orders to end the program. The MTA’s lawsuit is challenging Duffy’s Feb. 19 letter informing it that federal approval for congestion pricing had been revoked and to terminate it.
According to The New York Times, Liman, a Trump appointee, said that New York would suffer irreparable harm without the restraining order and indicated the potential for an extended order. He pointed out that the MTA “showed a likelihood of success” in the case.
The Department of Transportation intends to comply with the order.
“The judge’s ruling today was not on the merits of our case against (New York Gov. Kathy) Hochul’s class warfare, but rather a temporary pause to have more time to reach a decision,” a DOT spokesperson said. “Enforcement actions for noncompliance were merely under consideration, and we will comply with the judge’s request to hold. We look forward to making our case in court against Hochul’s illegal tolls as we work to protect working-class Americans from being unfairly charged to go to work, see their families or visit the city.”
Hochul celebrated the win on social media, claiming, “Traffic is down, business is up and the cameras are staying on.”
“Whether you love congestion pricing or hate it, this was a classic federal overreach into our business,” Hochul said. “We stopped it.”
The Trump administration tried to unlawfully shut down congestion pricing.
It didn’t work.
Traffic is down, business is up, and the cameras are staying on. pic.twitter.com/Bp5lYa3cjK
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) May 27, 2025
The MTA sued Duffy the same day he issued the Feb. 19 letter claiming congestion pricing is not authorized under the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) agreement. New York had until March 21 to end the program. One day before the deadline, Duffy gave Hochul another 30 days to comply.
On April 21, one day past the extended deadline, Duffy gave New York “one last chance” to end congestion pricing with another one-month extension. This time, however, the consequences for noncompliance were laid out. As soon as Wednesday, May 28, the DOT could withhold any funding or approval for projects in Manhattan. That threat could be applied throughout the state if MTA refused to comply.
The restraining order prevents the federal government from taking “any action to enforce compliance with or implement the Feb. 19 letter.” It also bars the DOT “from taking any of the ‘compliance measures’ set forth” in the April 21 letter, including the withholding of federal funding.
Liman’s order is another blow to President Donald Trump’s attempts to end congestion pricing. Last May, Trump called the program a “disaster” and pledged to terminate it in his “first week back in office.”
In a race against the clock, Hochul resurrected the program on Jan. 5, just before Trump began his second term. On Feb. 19, Trump declared congestion pricing dead.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
–President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/IMr4tq0sMB— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 19, 2025
In addition to Hochul defying orders to end the program since then, U.S. attorneys for the DOT accidentally uploaded a private, internal 11-page letter from the Department of Justice to the public court docket, explaining that the federal government has no case in the MTA’s lawsuit.
The trucking industry has opposed congestion pricing from the beginning.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has pointed out that truck drivers do not have the luxury of using public transit to avoid tolls. Furthermore, they usually have little control over their schedules.
“We routinely have no other choice than to drive through metropolitan areas during periods of high congestion because of the rigidity of current federal hours-of-service requirements,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “Additionally, shippers and receivers generally have little regard for a driver’s schedule, frequently requiring loading and unloading to occur at times when nearby roads are most congested. New York City’s congestion pricing plan was anti-trucker to begin with, and we will continue fighting to ensure it doesn’t come back. Beyond New York City, we encourage the Trump administration and Congress to fight the expansion of tolling across the country.” LL