Trump Pivots, Now Agrees to Fund
Second Avenue Subway Construction
NEW YORK—Last Thursday the Trump administration agreed to release funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Second Avenue Subway project. The Office of Management and Budget put funding for the project on hold last October, which prompted a lawsuit by the MTA to restore said funding.
A Department of Transportation spokesperson told The Hill that President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy agreed to release the funding to ensure the money “will not fund unconstitutional DEI initiatives, including illegal race- and sex-based contracts which historically cause project costs to balloon.” The DOT spokesman added, “This has always been about securing the best deal for the American taxpayer and ensuring their dollars are spent efficiently and fairly.”
The MTA filed the lawsuit last month to restore the funding in the U.S. Federal Court of Claims, which came five months after the White House’s Budget Director Russell Vought announced the administration would stop distributing a $3.4-billion grant for the project.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “It shouldn’t have taken seven months and a lawsuit to get here, but with the federal government’s concession today on the courthouse steps, the MTA can now confidently forge ahead with Second Avenue Subway Phase 2. The billion-dollar contract approved at our March Board meeting is being awarded and contractors are mobilizing right away. Today’s MTA is determined to expand our network and give riders more and better service. Long-awaited transit justice for East Harlem is just the beginning.”
At its March meeting, the MTA Board approved a $1.97-billion tunneling contract with Connect Plus Partners—a joint venture of Halmar International and FCC Construction. The project covers twin-tunnel boring from 116th Street to 125th Street and excavation of the future 125th Street station.
However, the same day as its Second Avenue subway funding reversal, U.S. Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was withholding more than $73 million from the State of New York for failing to revoke illegally issued non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
After what the FMCSA stated was New York’s continued noncompliance, it moved to withhold $73,502,543, or 4% of New York’s National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Program Block Grant funds.
Published: April 21, 2026