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The legal fight over congestion pricing has largely fallen out of the spotlight, but a little-noticed development in federal court last week shows it remains a top priority for President Donald Trump.

Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Eric Hamilton was assigned to defend the federal government in a suit brought by the MTA over the agency’s right to impose the $9 base toll to drive below 60th Street in Manhattan. Hamilton’s caseload includes lawsuits at the heart of the Trump administration’s agenda, including its effort to deny birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants, and the president’s authority to deploy the National Guard.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this [congestion pricing] case gets as much attention in the White House as the other high profile cases you mentioned,” said Dan Richman, a Columbia University law professor and former assistant U.S. attorney at the Southern District of New York. “Trump takes a strong interest in what’s happening in New York.”

During his 2024 campaign, Trump vowed to “TERMINATE” congestion pricing. Last February, he declared on social media that “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD” after ordering the U.S. Department of Transportation to revoke federal approval of the tolls.

But the president has so far been unable to make good on his boast. The tolls yielded $562 million in revenue for the MTA last year, which is slated to finance mass transit upgrades. The fees remain in effect, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the tolling “cameras are staying on.”

The feds’ legal war on the tolls has, at times, been a bumbling, comical affair.

Last April, federal attorneys in New York mistakenly published internal correspondence detailing a list of flaws in the government’s own legal strategy to kill congestion pricing. The Trump administration speculated the move was a deliberate act of sabotage.

Eric Hamilton defends some of the Trump administration’s most controversial orders in court.

U.S. Department of Justice

Hamilton’s appointment to the congestion pricing case last week came after one of the Southern District attorneys assigned to the case resigned.

“If he sent anybody up here that high, that means he really, really wants to win and he doesn’t trust the line people,” said Arthur Schwartz, a New York-based attorney who has litigated transportation lawsuits.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not respond to questions about Hamilton’s assignment to the case, but said the president still seeks to end the tolling program.

“President Trump has been clear: Congestion pricing is a disaster and he will stand up for working-class New Yorkers to put an end to it,” Desai wrote in a statement. “The Trump administration is committed to saving New York from this out-of-touch, cash-grab policy that was enacted by the Radical Left Democrats.”

So far, the Department of Justice’s arguments against congestion pricing look like a legal Hail Mary. A Manhattan federal judge has already allowed the MTA to continue collecting the tolls while the case moves forward, and barred the DOT from withholding funding from New York in retaliation.

During his first appearance in Manhattan federal court as part of the case last week, Hamilton reiterated arguments that have already been met with skepticism from U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman. Hamilton said the feds signed off on congestion pricing as a pilot program — and the agreement is a contract the federal government has the authority to terminate.

Richman said Manhattan federal judges — many of whom are former federal attorneys from the independent-minded Southern District of New York — are generally skeptical of government lawyers sent up from Washington, D.C.

“The government may take some hits for doing that,” Richman said.

Stephen Nessen contributed reporting to this story.

NYC transportation news this week

Subway station bathrooms. The MTA’s inspector general said in a new audit that many of the subway system’s 125 public restrooms lack basic amenities like toilet seats and paper.

Suing Trump to keep the Gateway project running. The state attorneys general of New York and New Jersey — and the Gateway Development Commission itself — have all sued the White House to unfreeze federal funding for a new set of train tunnels under the Hudson River.

AI-powered fare gates? Three subway turnstile companies — including two that use AI in their designs — are duking it out to win a $1.1 billion MTA contract to supply gates that better deter fare evasion.

ICE activity at NJ light rail station. Hoboken Mayor Emily Jabbour said earlier this week that the Ninth Street Light Rail station on the border of Jersey City has been noticeably quieter after federal immigration officers arrested several individuals at the station.

Ferries still docked. NYC Ferry service is still suspended while Coast Guard boats keep trying to break up all the ice around city waters.

On the Way LIVE. Join Ian Coss, host of the GBH News Peabody Award-winning podcast The Big Dig, and Stephen Nessen of WNYC’s On The Way, in conversation with transportation expert Polly Trottenberg and community advocate Lara Birnback, for a live taping about the the future of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Buy tickets here.

Curious Commuter

Question from Seth in Brooklyn

Who’s responsible for shoveling the sidewalks next to MTA property? I live on the same block as the elevated Franklin Avenue shuttle, and no one ever shovels the sidewalk beneath the tracks. 311 tells you to talk to the MTA, and the MTA says to tell 311.

Answer

You have our sympathies, Seth. A similar problem exists on Lincoln Road across the street from the Prospect Park subway station, where neither the MTA nor the DOT clear the sidewalk. The Department of Sanitation and the MTA say the rules for snow removal are simple: “All property owners are responsible for clearing a 4-foot path along the sidewalk, as well as adjacent bus stops and fire hydrants, and access to crosswalks. This rule applies to all property owners, including government agencies,” according to Department of Sanitation spokesperson Vincent Gragnani.

Of course, in reality it’s never that simple.

The MTA is responsible for clearing subway entrances, as well as properties, such as the area under the Franklin shuttle. But the sanitation department can’t issue tickets to government agencies. They can, however, send a strongly worded email or make a phone call. In the case of the stretch of sidewalk under the Franklin shuttle, sanitation says it sometimes helps the MTA clear it. If you still see an issue and feel like killing some time, call 311.