NYS sues Trump administration over $73M in highway funding
Gov. Kathy Hochul said Trump administration cuts are "political payback." Credit: Getty Images/Michael M. Santiago
WASHINGTON — New York is suing the Trump administration to stop it from withholding $73 million in funding for highway improvement projects, amid a fight over state commercial driver's licenses issued to immigrants.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a federal lawsuit on Friday to block the U.S. Department of Transportation from canceling the funding, after the federal agency announced last week it was withholding the money because the state had not complied with the agency’s request to revoke the commercial driver's licenses and permits of a number of foreign-born drivers.
An audit conducted by DOT last year claimed that of a sample of 200 commercial driver's licenses issued to foreign-born drivers by the state, 53% were to drivers without legal immigration status. But state officials including Gov. Kathy Hochul have argued that the audit’s findings are inaccurate, asserting that the state only issues CDL licenses to those who can prove they are in the country with legal status.
The state attorney general’s office said it has reviewed the cases flagged by the Department of Transportation and notified officials in January that all the recipients in question had legal status.
"Once again, New York is facing devastating federal cuts for nothing more than political payback," Hochul said in a statement Friday after the lawsuit was filed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
James said in the state’s lawsuit filing that withholding money intended to maintain roads and bridges endangers "the safety of motorists and pedestrians."
"By canceling this funding, the federal government is putting jobs and communities at risk," James said in a statement. "New Yorkers are counting on these investments, and we will not let the president jeopardize our communities’ safety."
Asked for comment about the lawsuit, the Department of Transportation reissued a statement first released by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on April 12 when he announced the funding was canceled.
"My message to New York’s far left leadership is clear: families must be prioritized on American roads," Duffy said.
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
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