Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg claimed on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is taking “revenge” against commuters in the New York metropolitan area by cutting funding for the construction of the Gateway Tunnel, which is said to be the nation’s largest infrastructure project.
When the government shutdown began earlier this month, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced that $18 billion in funding for New York City infrastructure projects would be paused to ensure the money is not tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The decision escalated the Trump administration’s clash with Democratic lawmakers over the shutdown.
Weeks later, Buttigieg weighed in to denounce the president’s move.
“This is about political revenge. The president has been very clear about that,” he told lawyer-turned-podcaster Katie Phang on her YouTube channel. “And the really dangerous thing is the revenge is on you — on ordinary Americans and commuters who depend on these tunnels.”
“The president thinks he’s getting revenge against, I don’t know, Chuck Schumer, the way he puts it when he says he’s terminating this project,” Buttigieg said. “But this project wasn’t for the benefit of some elected official — it was for the benefit of the hundreds of thousands of commuters who depend on that tunnel being in good shape between New York and New Jersey.”
The Biden-era Cabinet official went on to say that his Department of Transportation approved significant federal funding for the long-stalled project “because of how nationally important it is” to the economy.
“If those tunnels failed, you would feel the economic impact as far away as my house in Michigan,” he added.
New York officials say the $16 billion project, once completed, will support tens of thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefits over the next 35 years.
The new two-track rail tunnel is expected to be completed by 2035, and rehabilitation of the old rail tunnel is scheduled to be finished by 2038. The two-century-old rail tunnels were damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Due to funding disputes, it has faced numerous delays over the past decade. The project was deprioritized during Trump’s first term before the Biden administration picked it back up.
Construction is currently ongoing, according to Construction Dive, despite Trump’s threats to terminate the already “dead” project.
Sitting beside Buttigieg during Phang’s interview, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) had strong words for Trump’s move concerning the Gateway Tunnel.
“Trump is using these mob boss tactics to try to use this as a political chip to be able to engage in retribution and revenge,” Kim said. “And I’ll be honest with you, the people of New Jersey are disgusted by that action.”
TRUMP SLASHES FUNDING FOR BLUE STATE PROJECTS AS SHUTDOWN CLASH ESCALATES
Buttigieg reiterated the senator’s point before saying that Trump’s action would result in economic harm and safety risks for commuters.
“If you’re a commuter counting on those tunnels, maybe you voted one way, maybe you voted the other way. Either way, you don’t deserve to be treated this way by your president,” he concluded.
