Trumps transportation chief Sean Duffy blasts Hochul over outrageous MTA funding plea to boost horribly run agency
President Trump’s transportation chief put Gov.Kathy Hochul on notice for asking for more federal money to prop up the chronically cash-strapped MTA – as concerns over subway safety soar.US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy railed against the Democrat in a Tuesday social media post, blasting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as “horribly run” as the federal government and Empire State continue to spar over a controversial Manhattan congestion toll.“Outrageous! Governor Hochul is asking for MORE money for the horribly run MTA,” Duffy wrote in an X post.
“The MTA is running a deficit thanks to NY’s financial mismanagement, and they already receive billions in federal funding.“Instead of addressing rampant crime that’s scaring riders away or actually fixing their financial mismanagement, the state is trying to fill the gap with highway funds and taxing the working class,” he added.Duffy’s ire was raised after Hochul, along with state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester), sent a letter requesting the feds commit to change their funding formula for the MTA.The letter — sent to Duffy, Trump and Republican congressional leaders — argued the federal government doesn’t pay the MTA its fair share.“While the MTA carries 43 percent of the nation’s mass transit riders, its share of federal transit formula funding is only 17 percent,” the letter reads.“We believe this is a fundamental misalignment.”The back-and-forth is the latest wrinkle in a weeks-long spat between Duffy and Hochul that ignited over the governor’s $9 base toll to enter Midtown Manhattan — a plan that was touted for reducing congestion in the Big Apple but was set to generate needed revenue for the MTA.
In February, Duffy announced that he’d pull federal approval for congestion pricing — a move that Trump celebrated by boastfully tweeting, “LONG LIVE THE KING!”Hochul and MTA offici...