U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette Vargas permanently barred the Trump administration from freezing Gateway tunnel funding again in the Hudson River Gateway Project lawsuit after finding the halt violated federal law. The ruling, issued Monday, turns a temporary restraining order from February into a permanent block on the funding freeze.
Gateway tunnel funding freeze
Vargas wrote that “Defendants do not dispute that the suspension of federal grants flagrantly violates federal law.” She also wrote, “Defendants make no attempt to justify their actions as consistent with the governing federal regulations.” Those findings end the immediate attempt to halt money for the $16 billion Gateway tunnel project.
The Department of Transportation had frozen funding to the Gateway Development Commission from three separate grants. The freeze prompted a costly work stoppage earlier this year, and the court’s order leaves the grants protected from another suspension under the same legal theory.
New Jersey and New York
The February temporary restraining order had gone to New Jersey and New York after the court found the sudden freeze of funding for new tunnels crossing the Hudson River was likely illegal. The states also argued that they had no place in the Court of Federal Claims, while the Trump administration said disputes involving federal contracts belonged there. Vargas said the states had no standing to sue in that court.
The Gateway Development Commission has launched its own suit in the Court of Federal Claims, keeping that parallel dispute alive even after Monday’s ruling. The court also found the Department of Transportation never determined that the commission had failed to comply with federal law.
Mikie Sherrill and Jennifer Davenport
Gov. Mikie Sherrill and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said, “This is the most important infrastructure project in the nation, and thanks to our litigation, 1,000 people are back on the job and construction continues every day.” They also said, “This victory sends a clear message: the Trump Administration’s attempt to halt Gateway funding will not stand.”
The ruling means the funding fight is over in district court for now, and the commission’s separate case in the Court of Federal Claims remains the other path left in the broader dispute.
