By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday said the U.S. Transportation Department effort to force an end to Manhattan’s congestion pricing program was illegal, a blow to President Donald Trump’s attempts to eliminate the charge.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in May issued a temporary restraining order preventing the federal government from withholding funding for New York projects over the program. On Tuesday, he issued a judgment that the Trump administration’s effort in February 2025 to terminate the program was unlawful.
The first-of-its-kind program in the United States – in place since January 2025 – is charging most passenger vehicles a toll of $9 during peak periods to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street, in a bid to cut congestion and raise funds to improve mass transit.
Liman also found unlawful Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s threat in April to withhold funding for New York transportation projects if New York did not end the congestion pricing program.
“It is difficult to imagine more arbitrary and capricious decision-making than that at issue here,” Liman said in his 149-page opinion.
The White House declined to comment. USDOT said it disagreed with the ruling and is reviewing all legal options—including an appeal. The agency said the policy has “made federally funded roads inaccessible to commuters without providing a toll-free alternative.”
Trump has repeatedly pushed to end the fee. New York cited Trump’s social media post in February 2025 that touted his effort to kill congestion pricing with the phrase: “LONG LIVE THE KING!” The White House posted a mock photo of him on social media wearing a crown.
The program in its first year resulted in 27 million fewer vehicles entering the congestion zone, cutting traffic times by as much as 15 minutes each way and raising $550 million that underpins $15 billion in debt financing for critical mass transit capital improvements, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said.
Hochul said the program has “yielded huge benefits: reduced gridlock, faster trips, safer streets, and cleaner air” and added “the judge’s decision is clear: Donald Trump’s unlawful attempts to trample on the self-governance of his home state have failed spectacularly.”
USDOT under former Democratic President Joe Biden had approved the congestion program in November 2024, which is monitored via electronic license plate readers. U.S. approval is needed because it involves tolls on federal highways.
The program follows similar ones in London and Singapore. Opponents including Duffy say it takes money from working people.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul and Aurora Ellis)
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