Will Trump Put an End to Congestion Pricing or Not?

President Donald Trump pledged to eliminate congestion-pricing tolls, yet his team has just approved an agreement that is likely to keep them in effect until at least October. What’s the reason behind this?

In legal documents, the MTA and the federal Transportation Department agreed on a timeline that will prevent Judge Lewis Liman, who is overseeing the legal dispute about the Manhattan tolls, from making a ruling before the summer.

Afterwards, Liman will require additional time to address legal motions, which could prolong the case until at least October.

In the meantime, Trump’s team has committed to not seeking an injunction to stop the program.

What gives?

A postponement until October — or possibly longer — appears to be a clear victory for Gov. Kathy Hochul and a setback for Trump.

On the campaign trail, Trump criticized the tolls as a “disaster” and promised to abolish them in his first week.

In February, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued Hochul a firm deadline of March 21 to eliminate them.

“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD, Manhattan,” Trump proclaimed on social media at that time, “and all of New York is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

However, when Hochul disregarded Trump’s deadline, asserting she would ignore it unless instructed otherwise by a court, Duffy retreated and provided her with an additional month—while intensifying his threat: “Your refusal to end cordon pricing,” he warned, “is unacceptable.”

Any subsequent failure to comply “will not be taken lightly.”

Now, it seems the case won’t be settled until at least the fall, with tolls extracting another $50 million monthly from drivers in the meantime.

So not only is congestion not resolved, but Albany is covertly negotiating yet another tax increase to transfer even more funds to the ever-demanding MTA.

Indeed, a DOT spokesperson tweeted some bravado, claiming the April 20 deadline is still in effect and the agency will “use every tool at our disposal in response to non-compliance.”

But what tools do they have left after postponing the court battle to the fall?

It certainly seems that Duffy’s team is uncertain about whether he possesses legal authority to terminate the toll program.

This leads to the pressing $50 million-a-month question: What will transpire on April 20?

Will the tolls persist, as Hochul promises, or will Duffy discover a method to fulfill Trump’s commitments?

Perhaps Team Trump is merely delaying the decisive action while the president and the governor negotiate; maybe she’ll offer concessions on other issues (like approving new natural gas pipelines and/or fracking) in exchange for allowing the tolls to remain.

Yet if Hochul stays firm and the tolls continue, the president’s credibility may take a hit.

So, say it isn’t so, Mr. President—or, better yet, prove it.