A federal judge has temporarily blocked the efforts of the Trump administration to force New York City to put an end to its congestion price program.
Judge Lewis Liman granted a temporary restriction order on Tuesday that prohibits the Trump administration from retaining “federal funds, approvals or authorizations of the New York state agencies or premises to enforce compliance” with their demands to finish the toll program. The order is in force until June 9.
The development occurs after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the toll program, requested a preliminary court order to prevent the federal government from resuming approvals or funds to continue collecting tolls after the course of the United States Department of Transportation and obtained the federal approval of the previous congestion pricing program.
In his order, Liman said that the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are “temporarily restricted to take any action” to implement or enforce compliance after terminating the federal approval of the Toll Program.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul praised the judge’s order as a “victory” for New York in the battle for congestion prices, saying that prevents the Trump Administration “from taking reprisals against New York” for continuing the program, which is the first of its kind in the nation.
“Judge Liman’s temporary restriction order is a massive victory for New York travelers, claiming our right as a state to make decisions about what is best for our streets,” said Hochul in a statement on Tuesday. “New Yorkers deserve to control our own traffic patterns, maintain the blockade of grills out of our streets and protect our clean air. We need to make the massive investments necessary to support our traffic system and prevent it from falling into disorder and poor condition. The congestion price is the correct solution to take us there.”
“The congestion price is legal, we are working and maintain the cameras on,” he added.
The Transportation Department obtained the federal approval of the Congestion Price Program on February 19, weeks after it entered into force, after a review requested by President Donald Trump. The Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, said at that time that the “scope of this approved pilot project exceeds the authorized authority” under the pilot pricing program of the Federal Road Administration while calling it “upside down and unfair.”

E-ZPass readers and plaque scan cameras are seen on 42nd Street in Manhattan on February 19, 2025 in New York City.
Kena Betancur/ViewPress/Corbis through Getty Images
The MTA immediately challenged the reversal of the Trump administration in the Federal Court, looking for a declarative sentence that the DOT measure is not appropriate. Hochul and the president and CEO of MTA, Janno Lieber, have said that they will not turn off the tolls without a court order.
Duffy extended a deadline for New York to finish the toll collection several times, more recently warning Last month, the Federal Road Administration would take measures to “remedy the breach of New York”, such as the retention of approvals or funds for other transport projects “, as of May 28 if congestion prices did not cease.
Duffy has not publicly commented on the judge’s order on Tuesday.
In a response to the motion of the MTA that seeks a preliminary judicial order, Duffy’s lawyer argued that the request should be denied because New York cannot show irreparable damage “due to the premature nature of all this dispute” on the proposed compliance measures. “Critically, FHWA has not decided to impose any of these” proposals “or” potential “yet” compliance measures, they wrote.
The congestion price plan, which was launched on January 5, charges passenger vehicles $ 9 to access Manhattan below 60 street during peak hours as part of an effort to relieve congestion and raise funds for the city’s public transport system. During the peak hours, small trucks and charter buses are charged $ 14.40 and trucks and tourist buses pay $ 21.60.
The toll generated almost $ 50 million in revenues in its first month and is on the way to generate $ 500 million in net revenues for the end of this year, as initially projected, said the MTA.