Gateway Project ‘Terminated,’ Says President Trump

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On Oct 16, 2025

During a press conference yesterday, President Donald Trump said that the multibillion Gateway Tunnel project was “terminated.” This follows a funding freeze on the project that was announced on October 1, when White House Budget Director Russ Vought said the Trump administration was withholding $18 billion in federal funds on Gateway and New York City’s Second Avenue Subway project. The freeze was put in place at that time to make sure project funding was not based on unconstitutional DEI principles, as stated by Vought on an X post. 

At press time, it is unclear if the two projects have been formally defunded. Meanwhile, construction continues with money that has already been allocated. During last week’s New Jersey gubernatorial debate, Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli said there is enough money available at this point for construction on the Gateway Project to continue for another two to three months during the current federal shutdown. 

During yesterday’s press conference, Trump singled out New York Senator Chuck Schumer concerning Gateway’s supposed termination. “It’s billions and billions of dollars that Schumer has worked 20 years to get. It’s terminated. Tell him it’s terminated,” Trump said. 

In a statement, Schumer responded that “Donald Trump trying to kill [Gateway] again is pure spite and stupidity. It’s petty politics that would screw hundreds of thousands of New York and New Jersey commuters, choke off our economy, and kill good-paying jobs.” 

In their own joint statement, New Jersey Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker said, “Threatening to cut funding for Gateway is a direct attack on New Jersey by the Trump administration. It sends a clear signal that President Trump is more focused on punishing perceived enemies than serving the American people or delivering for New Jersey families. This isn’t a Democratic project. It’s a project that has had broad bipartisan support, including from his own Secretary of Transportation, who called it ‘important’ just days ago. We will fight to keep this funding, we will fight to keep the thousands of union jobs it supports, and we will fight to ensure that the better future that Gateway promises for our entire region ensures is fully realized.”  

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill said in last week’s final debate that the Gateway funds were Congressionally appropriated and that she would take the president to court if elected to stop the freeze [now likely termination]. “These funds can lead to the creation of some 100,000 jobs, but if we run out of money, it will cost us $1 million per day. We already have shovels in the ground and are moving forward on this. I will constantly make sure we are addressing our transportation needs here and taking care of the New Jersey commuter,” Sherrill said. 

Meanwhile, Ciattarelli, in an X statement last night, wrote, “New Jersey needs a governor who can work with — and when necessary, disagree with — the president. The Gateway Tunnel is critical. I’ll fight to get it done.” 

The $16 billion Hudson Tunnel project, a key part of the Gateway program, is a multiphase infrastructure project to build a new two-track rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing 115-year-old Noth River Tunnel that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Transportation officials in both New York and New Jersey view the tunnel project, already under construction, as critical to expanding transportation capacity.  

In his own issues statement, Utility and Transportation Contractors Association (UTCA) Executive Director David Rible commented: “Congress needs to do what American taxpayers are paying them to do: get back to work. The shutdown has real world consequences for working people and should not be a matter of soundbites and off-the-cuff remarks. The Gateway Tunnel is not a game: it is the most important infrastructure project of this generation. Countless jobs are at stake – not to mention the overall economic impact to the region – if the current tunnels have to be shuttered. 

“Enough is enough. Get back to D.C. and figure it out.”

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