Trump's Faction Inadvertently Publishes Critique of Their Strategy Opposing Congestion Pricing
Rewritten Article:
Wanna know the lowdown on the legal squabble over New York City's congestion pricing? Well, buckle up! The Department of Transportation (DOT), under ol' Donald Trump's Secretary, Sean Duffy, is trying to nix the tolls, but Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) thinks Duffy's got a losing case. Thank a booboo by the DOJ's legal team for spilling the tea on this. On Wednesday night, they posted an internal memo (it was eleven pages long, y'all) about the case on the court docket, only to yank it out later.
This document, originally sent on April 11 to DOT's senior trial attorney, Erin Hendrixson, warned her and her team that their approach in defending Duffy's decision to terminate the project could lead to a court loss. According to the internal memo, Duffy's actions to dismantle the project were found to be against the law, deceptive, procedurally erratic, and conflicted with people's due process rights. The DOJ concluded that it's highly unlikely Judge Liman or other reviewing courts would uphold Duffy's decision.
Now, since the current strategy ain't looking so hot in court, the DOJ recommended the DOT change its tack and focus on arguing the toll doesn't align with the DOT's objectives and was axed as part of a shift in agency priorities – a position more defensible under Office of Management and Budget regulations. Allegedly, this argument didn't exactly fly high inside the DOT offices.
Usually, such happenings would remain hush-hush, and both parties would just grit their teeth and move on. But then the DOJ inadvertently uploaded the document – yep, they copped to it! On Thursday morning, they filed a letter with the court acknowledging the blunder and asking for the document to be permanently sealed. But the court decided to merely lock it up temporarily – kinda silly, given the document's now all over the media!
The DOJ admitting to the mistake is a bit of a shocker. Thankfully, the DOT's poise is all too predictable. In a statement to Courthouse News, the agency's unnamed spokesperson quipped, "Are SDNY lawyers on this case incompetent or was this their attempt to RESIST?" They labeled it "legal malpractice" and said it's disheartening to witness such a prestigious legal organization's decline. At least someone seems to have their act together in this chaos!
Insights:This legal spat over New York City's congestion pricing is currently unfolding in federal court, with some eyebrow-raising developments following an inadvertent leak of an internal DOJ memo. The memo outlines several legal shortcomings in the Trump administration’s crusade to scrap congestion pricing tolls, specifically the arguments stated by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Key Points from the DOJ Internal Memo:
- DOJ Lawyers' Assessment: The DOJ memo deemed Duffy’s rationale for halting the congestion pricing scheme—maintaining that the tolls generate revenue rather than lessen congestion and lack a no-charge alternative—unlikely to convince the court. The memo also flagged substantial litigation risk, describing the decision as "contrary to law, pretextual, procedurally arbitrary and capricious, and violative of due process" under the Administrative Procedure Act[1].
- Alternative Legal Strategy: In an attempt to strengthen the government's stance, the DOJ suggested pinning the government's termination tactics on termination provisions under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, arguing that scrapping the incentive as a matter of "changed agency priorities" would offer a more plausible legal basis[1].
- Timeline and Deadlines: The federal government has set multiple deadlines for New York to halt the tolling, most recently extending the shutdown deadline to May 21. However, New York has refused to comply, and the MTA has taken legal action to prevent the termination. Both sides have agreed to an argument schedule, with court submissions stretching into the summer, potentially even October, with no immediate injunction to cease the tolls while the case is ironed out[1][2].
- Funding Threats: The DOT has threatened to reject federal approvals and funding for transportation projects if New York persists with its congestion pricing program beyond the new deadline[1][2].
- The future of New York City's congestion pricing is under contestation in federal court due to a legal battle that has seen an unintentional leak of an internal DOJ memo.
- The memo, originating from the DOJ on April 11, highlighted that the Trump administration's efforts to abolish the congestion pricing tolls, led by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, are facing numerous legal issues.
- The internal assessment suggests the arguments presented by Duffy, such as stressing the tolls generate revenue instead of reducing congestion and lack a no-charge alternative, are unlikely to convince the court.
- To strengthen the government's stance, the DOJ suggests focusing on arguing the toll doesn't align with the DOT's objectives and was terminated as part of a shift in agency priorities, which is a more defensible position under Office of Management and Budget regulations.
- The DOJ's blunder of uploading the document led to the controversy becoming public knowledge, with the media circulating the contents of the memo.
- While politics, policy-and-legislation, war-and-conflicts, and general-news websites like Gizmodo have covered this incident, the DOJ's inadvertent mistake and the DOT's response exemplify the complex interplay between tech and politics in the contemporary era.
