Recently sworn-in New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has called on President Donald Trump to immediately restore funding for the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel project, a major rail infrastructure effort under the Hudson River that will link New Jersey to New York City.
Sherrill, a Democrat, said that the president's refusal to fund the Gateway Tunnel project is an "illegal attack on New Jersey" that also shows a "reckless disregard" for the state's economy and the livelihoods of working families.
"If the president does not restore funding to this project, which I helped secure while serving in Congress, he will single-handedly kill nearly 100,000 jobs and $20 billion in economic activity," Sherrill said in a statement.
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"New Jersey will fight tooth and nail for our hard-earned tax dollars and this essential project that will make commutes easier and improve quality of life for residents in the Garden State," she added.
Sherrill said that New Jersey and New York make up the most powerful economic region in the world and called the Gateway Project the most urgent and consequential infrastructure project in the country.
The Trump administration, hours into a federal government shutdown in the fall, announced the freezing of billions of dollars in federal funding for the tunnel, as well as for the extension of New York City's Second Avenue Subway.
Trump then terminated the funding, blaming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for being responsible for the shutdown. Trump noted that Schumer had spent years trying to get the project built.
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The project has been under construction for more than a year after it received pledges of about $12 billion from the federal government.
The Department of Transportation said funding would remain suspended pending a review of contracts for compliance with new rules governing women and minority-owned businesses, according to The New York Times.
About 1,000 union workers are currently still on the job at four sites in New York City and New Jersey, and it's being kept alive temporarily by a line of credit, which is expected to run out Feb. 6, per the outlet.
A White House spokesperson pushed back on Sherrill's comments, blaming Democrats for the impasse.
"It's Chuck Schumer and Democrats who are standing in the way of a deal for the Gateway Tunnel Project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"There is nothing stopping Democrats from prioritizing the interests of Americans over illegal aliens and getting this project back on track," Desai added.
The project is considered necessary because the existing Hudson River rail tunnels are 115 years old and were badly damaged by saltwater flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. They carry about 70,000 New Jersey commuters daily and Amtrak has warned that failure of one tunnel could cut rail traffic into New York City by up to 75%.
Meanwhile, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., echoed Sherrill's demands, calling the continued withholding of federal funds "inexcusable" and urging the administration to immediately release the money.
"These actions put union workers and families across New York and New Jersey at risk and threaten the most critical infrastructure project in the nation," Gillibrand said.
"New Yorkers will not be treated as political pawns in this administration's twisted game of chess," she added.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also blasted the funding freeze, calling it "the latest collateral damage" of what she described as Trump's vindictive effort to harm New Yorkers.
"Make no mistake, the Gateway Tunnel is vital to the economy of this state and the entire region, and I will fight like hell to ensure it gets built," Hochul said.
