The Trump administration cannot immediately kill New York’s congestion pricing program or retaliate against the state for keeping it in place, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
A temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman is another setback for President Donald Trump’s assertive use of executive power and a victory for New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to Politico New York.
In a series of letters earlier this year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had said the tolling program no longer has necessary federal approval and then threatened “serious consequences” if Hochul didn’t stop the tolls, including pulling approval and money for all kinds of public works projects in the state, the news site reported.
In a statement after the ruling, Hochul said: "We’ve won — again."
"New Yorkers deserve to control our own traffic patterns, keep gridlock off our streets and protect our clean air," she added. "We need to make the massive investments necessary to support our transit system and prevent it from falling into disarray and disrepair. Congestion pricing is the right solution to get us there."
Liman’s restraining order keeps the tolls in place through at least June 9 and prevents Duffy from retaliating against New York, Politico reported.
