Hochul slams Trump’s ‘king’ remark after president’s move to block congestion pricing toll in NYC

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is defending the state’s congestion pricing program in New York City and pushing back against President Donald Trump’s “king” remark after his administration moved to block the scheme.

Hochul appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday and was asked about her one-on-one Oval Office meeting with Trump at the White House last week. The governor said she wanted to use the meeting with Trump to make a case for the toll program “because our city is paralyzed with gridlock, and we had a path forward to be able to make the city move again, and it’s working.”

“It wasn’t an adversarial meeting,” the Democrat said, “but I was very clear, especially after I found that the Trump administration had ended a program that was put in place, congestion pricing, by the duly elected members of our legislature representing the voice of the people, and with a tweet, he claims that he is the king, and therefore he has the power to destroy it.”

The Trump administration on Wednesday ordered a stop to the program, which launched Jan. 5 with the goals of thinning traffic and funding mass transit by imposing a $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan’s core south of Central Park.

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Trump declared victory on Truth Social after the announcement, writing, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

Hochul immediately fired back on Wednesday, criticizing the remark. She reiterated her stance Sunday.

“And I have a problem with that characterization, because we labored under a king 250 years ago, and as I said, we’re not going back there,” Hochul said.

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Despite the federal order, the tolls are remaining in place for now because of a federal lawsuit aiming to keep them alive that was filed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency that runs public transit in New York City. 

The congestion tolling has been divisive in New York, with most opposition coming from suburban commuters or from those living in areas not well-served by the subway system. Advocates say it is an innovative way to speed up traffic and reduce air pollution.

Hochul said that while her meeting with Trump may not have persuaded the president to rethink his move to block the program, she will continue to fight for it.

“The people in my state need to know I’m willing to take the fight wherever I have to,” she said.

Hochul said that she believes the state’s case will be won in the courts and that the congestion pricing toll program will continue.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Gov. Kathy Hochul said her meeting with President Donald Trump wasn’t adversarial.