Federal lawyers admit killing congestion pricing is unlikely

Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan accidentally released an internal letter casting serious doubt on the Trump administration's ability to gut New York's congestion pricing plan. On Thursday, they apologized.

The letter, dated April 11, made it clear that Judge Lewis Liman or other courts would likely not endorse Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's decision to revoke federal approval of the tolling program, which got the green light under the Biden administration.

The letter did say Duffy could terminate the plan via the Office of Management and Budget “as a matter of changed agency priorities.” But even this argument, the lawyers say, is not likely to pass muster.

In their apology to Judge Liman, the office said the letter's publication was "an honest error and was not intentional in any way. Upon realizing the error, we immediately took steps to have the document removed. We look forward to continuing to vigorously advocate in the best interest of our clients, the DOT and (Federal Highway Administration)."

A spokesperson for Duffy was not swayed and posited the lawyers were either incompetent or trying to sabotage the DOT's work.

"At the very least, it’s legal malpractice. It’s sad to see a premier legal organization continue to fall into such disgrace," the spokesperson said.

Additionally, the DOT then said it was replacing the federal lawyers representing them in their case against New York.

The snafu represents the latest setback for the Trump administration in its effort to shutter the controversial tolls, and has delighted pro-congestion pricing advocates.