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(CN) — A federal judge rescued Manhattan’s congestion pricing program on Tuesday from the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate the toll.
In a 149-page opinion granting summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, a Donald Trump appointee, found Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s attempts to shut the congestion pricing program down to be wholly unlawful in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
The Federal Highway Administration approved the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s application in November 2025 — before President Donald Trump took office — under the Value Pricing Pilot Program created by Congress to begin the congestion pricing toll program.
Congestion pricing has been in his sights ever since.
Duffy argued that the toll program was not eligible for the value pricing pilot program, and that the highway administration didn’t have the authority to enter into any agreement with MTA.
He claimed that the program illegally establishes a “cordon pricing” zone in Manhattan without a free alternative route with the goal of raising revenue for MTA improvements, neither of which are allowed by Congress.
Liman didn’t find that argument convincing in previous rulings, and it did not gain any ground on Tuesday.
“The statute specifically envisions that the funds generated through a tolling program may be spent on means of transportation that offer alternatives to a congested roadway … The fact that it does not accord with the current secretary’s priorities does not mean that his predecessor lacked authority to permit it,” Liman said.
While he stopped short of granting a permanent injunction, Liman said Duffy lacked authority to ever terminate the cooperative agreement struck between New York and the federal government to establish the toll program unless the city in some way fails to comply with the terms of the contract.
New York’s Central Business District tolling program plan began in January 2025 and includes a $9 toll for passenger cars driving south of 60th Street in Manhattan during peak traffic hours.
Collecting tolls on federal-aid highways is typically prohibited, except for in connection with pilot projects seeking to reduce congestion thanks to Congress’ Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
The highway administration allowed the toll program to be implemented, but, just one month after the cameras went online, Duffy sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul purporting to rescind the agreement struck in November and terminate the program.
Duffy wrote that he was acting on behalf of Trump, who made his disdain known for the first-in-the nation toll: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,” Trump said in a social media post in February 2025. “Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
MTA filed suit in the Southern District of New York shortly after, arguing Duffy lacked the authority to rescind the agreement or terminate the toll program.
Liman agreed and issued a preliminary injunction then, preventing the Trump administration from taking any action to dismantle the toll program or levy any sanctions against the state for failing to comply with Duffy’s letter.
Duffy sent a second letter in April 2025 giving New York “one last chance” to comply with no success. Both letters were final agency actions, according to Liman, and neither contained any true legal basis to terminate the toll program.
According to Liman, even if Duffy’s attempts at termination were not arbitrary, they wouldn’t stand because his letters were outside the bounds of his authority granted by Congress. He didn’t accuse MTA of violating any terms of the program, so unilateral termination is illegal, Liman said.
“The secretary did not base his February termination and rescission on those reasons. He asserted the reasons as the basis for his action later on, only after he was staring down what promised to be a motion for a preliminary injunction in that litigation,” Liman wrote.
The congestion pricing toll program faced an uphill battle from its inception in 2019, when then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it into law.
It was unpopular in the city and across the state, but it has been gaining popularity after it raised more than $500 million in its first year, boosted air quality in Lower Manhattan and reduced traffic.
Polls show that New York City voters are taking notice, with one suggesting only 35% oppose congestion pricing in May 2025.
“Traffic is down, business is up, and we’re making crucial investments in a transit system that moves millions of people a day,” MTA CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement. “Today — once again — Secretary Duffy failed, and New York is winning.”
Lieber added that congestion pricing is here to stay: “We’ve said it all along, and Judge Liman’s clear, detailed ruling leaves no doubt: congestion pricing is legal. It’s here to stay. And it works.”
A DOT spokesperson told Courthouse News on Tuesday that they intend to appeal.
“Once again, working-class Americans are being sidelined under Governor Kathy Hochul’s policies, which impose a massive tax on ever New Yorker,” the spokesperson said. “These Green New Scam policies have made federally funded roads inaccessible … The Trump administration will not stop fighting to make everyday life more affordable for American families.”
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