A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s effort to stop New York’s congestion pricing toll program was illegal.
Judge Lewis Liman wrote that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law” when he purported to withdraw the federal government’s approval for the program in the early weeks of Trump’s presidency.
“An unelected administrative agency may not make decisions affecting large segments of the public based on what comes to mind at the moment,” Liman wrote. “It must engage in reasoned decision making.”
The MTA — which administers the toll and, by state law, uses the proceeds to fund $15 billion in mass transit improvements — sued the feds last February, hours after Duffy declared the toll dead. “I have concluded that the scope of this pilot project as approved exceeds the authority authorized by Congress,” Duffy wrote at the time.
The secretary also argued that “the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative” to enter Manhattan — despite the fact that a toll to drive onto the island has existed since the Holland Tunnel’s opening in 1927.
The congestion toll, which is set at $9 once a day for ordinary cars, applies to drivers entering Manhattan’s local streets at or below 60th Street, and is discounted for drivers who already paid at any of the tolled river crossings into the congestion zone.
There remain several toll-free ways to enter Manhattan — like crossing the Brooklyn Bridge onto the untolled FDR Drive, getting off the untolled Queensboro Bridge at 62nd St., or entering by any of the untolled Harlem River bridges north of the congestion zone.
Attorneys for the MTA argued that Duffy had no right to summarily undo a program that had been developed in partnership with — and ultimately approved by — the federal government under former President Joe Biden.
Early on in the case, a slate of federal lawyers appeared to agree in a private memo that ended up erroneously posted on the case’s public docket.
“There is considerable litigation risk in defending [U.S. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s] February 19, 2025 decision [to attempt to revoke congestion pricing authorization] against [the MTA’s] claims … that the decision was contrary to law, pretextual, procedurally arbitrary and capricious, and violated due process,” wrote three of the assistant U.S. attorneys who had been tasked with doing just that.
“It is unlikely that Judge Liman or further courts of review will accept the argument that [congestion pricing] was not a statutorily authorized ‘value pricing’ pilot under [the relevant law],” their memo continued.
The Justice Department later tossed those attorneys from the case.
“We’ve said it all along, and Judge Liman’s clear, detailed ruling leaves no doubt: Congestion pricing is legal. It’s here to stay. And it works,” MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said in a statement.
“Traffic is down, business is up, and we’re making crucial investments in a transit system that moves millions of people a day,” he added. “Today — once again — Secretary Duffy failed and New York is winning.”
Gov. Hochul also heralded the victory on Tuesday, saying in a statement that “Donald Trump’s unlawful attempts to trample on the self-governance of his home state have failed spectacularly.”
“I have been clear from day one: My administration will fight any unlawful effort by the Trump administration to attack the sovereignty of New York State with everything we’ve got,” she added. “Today, we won again.”
The Transportation Department, in a statement, called the toll part of the “Green New Scam” and indicated it was weighing its options to appeal, again insisting on “toll free” options for car commuters.
“Once again, working-class Americans are being sidelined under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s policies, which impose a massive tax on every New Yorker,” the statement read. “These Green New Scam policies have made federally funded roads inaccessible to commuters without providing a toll-free alternative.”
“We are reviewing all legal options — including an appeal — with the Justice Department,” the statement continued.
