Hochul and Trump Clash Over Manhattan Toll and Gas Pipeline

By Y.M. Lowy

Governor Kathy Hochul met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, urging him to support Manhattan’s congestion pricing plan. Hochul also seeks federal backing for plans to renovate Penn Station, owned by Amtrak, a federal agency. However, Trump is pushing for something in return: the revival of the Constitution Pipeline, a natural gas project that was blocked in 2020 when New York refused to issue a key environmental permit.

The pipeline, which would transport gas from Pennsylvania to New York and New England, was shut down after legal battles in 2020. The pipeline’s revival has reignited fierce opposition from environmental groups, who argue it would undermine New York’s clean energy. As Hochul and Trump negotiate, the future of both the congestion toll and the pipeline hangs in the balance, with both sides digging in on their positions.

“I hope we don’t have to use the extraordinary powers of the federal government to get it done,” Trump said on Thursday. “If we have to, we will, but I don’t think we’ll have to.”