New York's Congestion Pricing Saga: A Tumble of Lawsuits and Legal Slip-ups
Trump's Team Unintentionally Posts Document Criticizing Their Argument Against Congestion Tolls
It seems the battle for New York City's congestion pricing program is far from over, with surprise twists and turns aplenty. Despite Donald Trump's Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, aiming to pull the plug on the tolls, the Department of Justice (DoJ) isn't exactly on his side. We owe this insight to an unfortunate faux pas by the DoJ's legal team, who accidentally leaked an internal memo.
This 11-page document, uploaded and then removed from the docket for the lawsuit between New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Duffy's Department of Transportation (DoT), was initially sent to senior trial attorney Erin Hendrixson on April 11. The memo advised her and her team to rethink their approach, or else they risked losing their case.
The DoT is currently defending Duffy's decision to deem the project illegal. However, the DoJ's legal team flagged that Duffy's actions to dismantle the project were questionable, being "contrary to law, pretextual, procedurally arbitrary and capricious, and violated due process." Such reservations don't exactly instill confidence in our defenders of the law. As a result, the DoJ's lawyers concluded that "It is very unlikely that Judge Liman or further courts of review will uphold the Secretary's decision on the legal grounds."
Given that the current position appears to be a loser, the DoJ's attorneys recommended a change in strategy. They suggested the DoT argue that the toll doesn't align with the agency's goals and was canceled "as a matter of changed agency priorities," a position more defensible under Office of Management and Budget regulations. Interestingly enough, this recommended strategy seems to have fallen flat within DoT offices.
Usually, such disagreements would take place behind closed doors, but the DoJ inadvertently uploaded the document to the public docket. They confirmed this mistake on Thursday morning in a letter filed with the court, stating that it had inadvertentlyuploaded a privileged document to the public docket and requested the court to permanently seal the document. Despite the widespread availability of the document at this point, the court has opted to temporarily seal it, raising some eyebrows.
The DoJ's clumsy mistake is rather surprising. On the other hand, the DoT's behavior is Business as Usual. In a statement to Courthouse News, an anonymous spokesperson for the agency questioned, "Are SDNY lawyers on this case incompetent, or was this their attempt to RESIST?" The same unnamed spokesperson called the mistake "legal malpractice," adding a dash of dramatic flair to the proceedings.
Amidst the political squabbles and legal mishaps, the congestion pricing program has been operational since January 2025, yielding positive results—reducing traffic congestion, improving travel times, and generating considerable revenue for public transit. The program has already raked in over $159 million in its first three months[1], offering tangible benefits that bolster the state's position that congestion pricing is both legal and effective[1][2].
In essence, congestion pricing in NYC is embroiled in legal battles, yet operational and upheld in court, with New York State and the MTA proceeding with enforcement while continuing their legal battles against the federal challenge[1][2][4]. Buckle up, folks—this rollercoaster shows no signs of slowing down!
Enrichment Highlights:
- The congestion pricing program, operational since January 2025, has been reducing traffic congestion, improving travel times, and generating substantial revenue for public transit[1][2].
- The program has already generated over $159 million in its first three months, demonstrating tangible benefits that support its legality[1].
- Despite the federal opposition, the congestion pricing program is currently operational and upheld in court, with New York State and the MTA proceeding with enforcement while continuing legal battles against the federal challenge[1][2][4].
- Despite the ongoing legal battles surrounding New York's congestion pricing program, it has been operational since January 2022, demonstrating positive effects such as reduced traffic congestion, improved travel times, and substantial revenue generation for public transit.
- The legal team of the Department of Justice (DoJ) raised questions about the legality of Donald Trump's Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy's decision to deem the congestion pricing program illegal, stating that his actions were "contrary to law, pretextual, procedurally arbitrary and capricious, and violated due process."
- The future of congestion pricing policy-and-legislation in New York City is uncertain, as both the DoJ and the Department of Transportation (DoT) grapple with legal slip-ups and disagreements, with general news outlets like Gizmodo and tech bloggers closely following the developments.
