Gateway Tunnel Funding Battle Not Over

As Trump Vows to Take New Court Action

NEW YORK—Despite a federal judge recently ordering the Trump Administration to release funds for the $16-billion Gateway Tunnel project, President Trump has doubled down on his criticism of the project and vows not to have the federal government pay for any cost overruns.

The Trump Administration has forwarded a payment of $30 million to Gateway but continues to withhold more than $200 million now owed by the federal government. Reuters reported on Feb. 17 that the federal government released another $77 million in funding for the Gateway project.

The Westchester County Business Journal reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has set a Feb. 23 hearing on the Trump Administration’s appeal of a court order issued on Feb. 9 by U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette Vargas requiring the Trump Administration to resume funding of the project.

On Mon., Feb. 16, President Trump lashed out against the Gateway project in a Truth Social post. He added that the project will be “financially catastrophic for the region, unless hard work and proper planning is done, NOW, to avoid insurmountable future cost overruns,” according to Politico.

Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, listens as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks to Gateway Tunnel project construction workers at a press conference on Feb. 17.

Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other key stakeholders met with construction workers on Tues., Feb. 17, to press the federal government to release the funds that put the project on pause and impacted approximately 1,000 construction workers.

The Gateway Development Commission issued a statement after Judge Vargas’ favorable ruling, stating: “GDC is grateful to New York and New Jersey for their support in restoring our access to the federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project. We have received an initial disbursement of $30 million from the federal government and expect to receive the full $205 million in reimbursement funds. Construction remains paused for now. We are working with our contractors to plan how to deploy these funds in the most effective way and get workers back on the job to resume some construction as soon as possible.”

Published: February 17, 2026

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