Trump proposed trade - Gateway funds for renaming Dulles and Penn Station

President Donald J. Trump privately offered in January to lift a hold on roughly $16 billion in federal support for the Gateway Hudson River tunnel project if Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer would back renaming New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles International Airport after the president, multiple people familiar with the conversation said. Schumer rebuffed the request, telling Trump he lacked the power to deliver on such an unusual demand, and a source close to Schumer said, "There is nothing to trade."

The proposal, described by two people familiar with the exchange and by other sources, came as federal officials continued to withhold funds that were approved in 2021 and expected to sustain construction that began in 2023. The administration’s freeze, first imposed last October, has persisted even after Congress passed appropriations and after additional federal commitments to the program, raising alarms among state officials and builders that work could stall if money does not start flowing.

The Gateway program is one of the largest U.S. rail projects in decades and aims to build new tunnels beneath the Hudson River to connect New Jersey and Manhattan. Cost estimates vary by reporting; most officials and documents place the program near $16 billion, with some accounting variants cited at $16.1 billion or higher after recent design and schedule changes. The Biden administration added roughly $6.9 billion to the program in 2024, but project managers say the pause in reimbursements has left the venture short on cash for ongoing work.

State officials and the Gateway Development Commission have moved into litigation, arguing the withholding of funds is unlawful and breaches federal contracting obligations. Acting New Jersey Attorney General Jen Davenport said the suspension "violates the law in multiple ways: It violates careful federal regulations that limit whether and when agencies can freeze project funds, it violates requirements that agencies have to give valid reasons for the decisions they make, and it reflects an unlawful effort by the president to punish political rivals by holding up this critical project."

Project accountants and state officials say the program is owed more than $200 million in unreimbursed bills since the pause began; a line of credit that has kept crews working is expected to run dry this week, officials warn. The Gateway Development Commission has said construction will be forced to halt unless federal payments resume, and workforce-impact estimates diverge: one commission warning cited "thousands" of layoffs, while another estimate put the likely number of workers affected at roughly 1,000.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York condemned the reported exchange and framed it as an affront to workers and the region’s economy, saying, "These naming rights aren’t tradable as part of any negotiations, and neither is the dignity of New Yorkers... At a time when New Yorkers are already being crushed by high costs under the Trump tariffs, the president continues to put his own narcissism over the good-paying union jobs this project provides and the extraordinary economic impact the Gateway tunnel will bring." She added, "I demand that president put people first and unfreeze this project and all the others his administration has been holding hostage for his personal gain."

Administration officials have offered shifting explanations for the freeze, from concerns about grant-program compliance to political disputes over other agency funding. The White House declined to comment on the reported January conversation. Litigation by New York, New Jersey and the Gateway commission and renewed pressure from regional leaders make an immediate resolution the primary issue to watch as construction budgets approach depletion.