Quotes
This is a signal not to just New York but all of the other cities — liberal cities. Don’t do it! We’re not going to approve it,
co-host Lawrence Jones exclaimed
I’m here to say New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years and we sure as hell are not going to start now,
Hochul exclaimed to cheers on Wednesday
I don't care if you love congestion pricing or hate it. This is an attack on our sovereign identity, our independence from Washington. And we are a nation of states. This is what we fought for. This is what people like Alexander Hamilton and others fought for: To set up a system where we are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington."
Following the announcement that Trump would be rescinding federal approval for the plan, Hochul said
All indications are that the congestion charge has been remarkably successful, exceeding even its supporters' expectations. Traffic congestion has clearly declined, with travel times falling on most routes within the congestion relief zone."
Economist Paul Krugman wrote on SubstackThe MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program,
she wroteTraffic is way down because people can't come into Manhattan and it's only going to get worse,
Trump told the outlet
Implementing congestion pricing will fund much needed accessibility improvements and signal modernization for our beleaguered subway system that will speed up train times while unclogging gridlock on city streets."
Following Biden's approval of the plan in 2023, the New York City Comptroller saidWe are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king, ... Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future – as a New Yorker, like President Trump, knows very well.”
Hochul went on, ... adding,
The US Department of Transportation emailed us a letter from Secretary Duffy announcing their attempt to end the congestion pricing program in the state of New York,
Hochul said during a press conference, ... according to a clip shared on her official X acouuntNewark is not a dumping ground. Our residents deserve clean air, healthy families, and a future built on green energy, not more pollution. Enough is enough. Newark - and the State of New Jersey - deserves better.”
RasJBaraka
Sixty-five percent of New Yorkers said they did not want this tax, that this was unfair to the residents that I represent in the outer boroughs who now have to pay an additional toll to drive into the city center in the city in which they live, ... And this is significant, what President Trump did, not just for New York but the entire nation, because New York was first tier — the first in the nation — however, other cities were considering doing the same thing."
Malliotakis told "Wake Up America."
We need a DOGE at the MTA because it is the most mismanaged bureaucratic disaster,
Malliotakis said.jpg)
The MTA filed papers in federal court to ensure that the highly successful program -- which has already dramatically reduced congestion, bringing reduced traffic and faster travel times, while increasing speeds for buses and emergency vehicles -- will continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away,
CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement
What President Trump did, by reversing the rubber stamp of President Biden that allowed this to go forward without even a full and thorough environmental impact statement is, I think, incredible, and I'm very thankful to the president for stepping in,
she continuedThe problem is that this has shifted the traffic and the pollution and the congestion to outside of that zone, to the outer boroughs, to mostly, by the way, minority communities,
she said
Doesn’t matter what u think of congestion pricing, federal government doesn’t get to make this decision. NY State passed a law, USDOT approved it. No matter what corrupt deal Donald Trump made with the Mayor, he isn’t king. Only fools concede to false power. It’s an illusion,
Brannan said
As governor of Illinois, my oath is to the constitution of our state and our nation. We don’t have kings in America, and I won’t bend the knee to one.”
Additionally, as the White House shared the photo of Trump, Illinois’s Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, delivered a State of the State address in which he said.jpg)
I want to thank President Trump and Secretary Duffy for their efforts to halt the current congestion pricing program. While I have consistently expressed openness to a form of congestion pricing, the current program lines the MTA's pockets at the expense of New Jerseyans."
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who has sharply criticized the congestion pricing program, praised Trump in a statementEvery American should be able to access New York City, regardless of their economic means. It shouldn't be reserved for an elite few."
Duffy defended the Trump administration's decision in his letter, writingThe Administration’s efforts to summarily and unilaterally overturn the considered determinations of the political branches — federal, state, and city — are unlawful, and the Court should declare that they are null and void,
lawyers for the MTA argued