House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has claimed President Donald Trump is forcing “presidential graffiti” on the nation with his reported desire to rename Dulles International Airport and Penn Station in exchange for releasing federal funds for a $16 billion tunnel project.
“It’s another example of Donald Trump trying to force presidential graffiti down the throats of the American people,” Jeffries said on CNN’s Sunday morning show State of the Union. “It’s completely and totally unacceptable.”
The interview referenced the Gateway Tunnel Project, a two-track rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York City that remains under construction. The Trump administration withheld the necessary funds to complete the project at the start of the government shutdown in early October.
Trump met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last month to discuss the funding freeze. During that meeting, the president reportedly asked the senator to get his name on Dulles Airport and Penn Station in return for releasing the funds. Schumer declined to fulfill the request.
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump claimed Schumer suggested renaming Penn Station to “Trump Station.” Schumer denied he suggested any such idea.
“Absolute lie. He knows it. Everyone knows it,” the top Senate Democrat posted on X. “Only one man can restart the project and he can restart it with the snap of his fingers.”
Trump noted that renaming Dulles goes through a different process than Penn Station.
The airport’s name change to honor Trump has been proposed in legislation filed by Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC) last month. Republicans previously floated the idea, as Congress holds jurisdiction over the matter because the airport is a federally owned facility.
Jeffries said he is a “hard no” on Trump’s renaming bid, as he hopes other House and Senate Democrats share his opinion on the matter.
“The president is unlawfully withholding funds from Gateway,” the New York Democrat added. “This guy’s priorities are completely and totally unhinged, but this is the Republican Party right now.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) dismissed concerns about Trump’s reported desire to rename critical infrastructure after himself.
“At the end of the day, to me, I really could care less what the name of a building is, a critical infrastructure project is. I care that it gets done,” he said on ABC News’s Sunday morning program This Week before offering advice to his fellow lawmakers in dealing with Trump. “And ultimately, from my vantage point, you know, work it out.”
JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO UNFREEZE GATEWAY TUNNEL FUNDING
On Friday, a federal judge temporarily paused the Trump administration’s freeze on billions of dollars in funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project because the money was appropriated by Congress.
The judge’s order came in response to a lawsuit filed by New York and New Jersey last week. Construction for the tunnel project was set to shut down on Friday unless federal funding resumed.
