NY governor makes case for Manhattan tolls in meeting with Trump after feds ordered a halt

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul made the case for Manhattan's congestion tolling during an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump after federal officials ordered a halt to the program, a spokesperson for the Democratic governor said.

Hochul and Trump met for more than an hour on Friday afternoon and also discussed other issues including immigration, infrastructure, economic development, energy, offshore wind and nuclear power, press secretary Avi Small said. He said Hochul presented Trump with a booklet showing the early success of congestion pricing.

Small declined to comment further on the conversation. The White House did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.

The Trump administration on Wednesday ordered a stop to the program, which launched Jan. 5 with the goals of thinning traffic and funding mass transit by imposing a $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan's core south of Central Park. Transit officials said the toll has brought modest but measurable traffic reductions.

Despite the federal order, the tolls are remaining in place for now because of a federal lawsuit aiming to keep them alive that was filed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency that runs public transit in New York City. Hochul said the tolls will continue while the lawsuit is pending.

However the Republican president, whose namesake Trump Tower penthouse and other properties are within the congestion zone, already declared victory after Wednesday's announcement.

“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED.” Trump said on his social networking site, adding, “LONG LIVE THE KING!” The White House later posted an image of Trump wearing a crown in front of the New York skyline.

Hochul immediately fired back.

“New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years,” she said at a news conference at Grand Central Terminal, one of the city’s train hubs. “We sure as hell are not going to start now.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the federal government was rescinding its approval of the program, calling the tolls' “a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”

The congestion tolling has been divisive in New York, with most opposition coming from suburban commuters or from those living in areas not well-served by the subway system. Advocates say it is an innovative way to speed up traffic and reduce air pollution.

New York officials and the Trump administration have been at odds over other issues as well.

Hochul has criticized the administration and the Justice Department for attempting to drop an alleged corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a lawsuit this month against Hochul and the state's attorney general over a law that lets people who might not be in the U.S. legally get driver's licenses, saying it flies in the face of federal immigration enforcement efforts.

Also this month Trump aide Elon Musk bashed federal payments to reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants, leading to a suspension of the payments and the firing of four federal employees. The Federal Emergency Management Agency clawed back more than $80 million from the city for migrant sheltering costs, prompting a lawsuit.

Meanwhile state Attorney General Letitia James and her Democratic counterparts in other states have sued the Trump administration over issues including access by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to federal payment systems containing Americans' sensitive personal information and the administration's attempt to freeze federal funding.