NY tunnel and subway projects still alive, Trump official says

By Chris Marquette, Ry Rivard | 10/17/2025 01:44 PM EDT

The Transportation Department has no plans to end the multibillion-dollar Gateway tunnel and Second Avenue Subway projects, the official told POLITICO a day after the president said they were “terminated.”

A tunnel is under construction on Oct. 2 in Manhattan that will connect the new Hudson River rail tunnel to New York Penn Station in New York City. From an overhead view, workers wearing neon green and safety gear are shown.

A tunnel is under construction on Oct. 2 in Manhattan that will connect the new Hudson River rail tunnel to New York Penn Station in New York City. Ted Shaffrey/AP

The Transportation Department has no plans to kill two multibillion-dollar tunnel and subway projects critical to New York City, a Trump administration official told POLITICO on Thursday — a day after the president spoke of them having been “terminated.”

The official was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

President Donald Trump’s remarks to reporters Wednesday were the latest development raising questions about the future of the $16 billion Gateway project across the Hudson River and the $7 billion extension of the Second Avenue Subway. Trump spoke about ending billions of dollars in “Democrat” programs as a way to make the government shutdown more painful for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats.

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“The project in Manhattan. The project in New York,” Trump said, in an apparent reference to the projects. “It’s billions and billions of dollars that Schumer has worked 20 years to get. It’s terminated.”

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