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Congestion pricing has been the bane of existence for commuters below 60th Street for a week now. One week from today, however, the pendulum could start to swing the other way. Republican representatives have a serious ally in President-elect Donald Trump, who says he will do whatever he can to get congestion pricing erased. U.S. Representative Mike Lawler (R-17TH) has been one of the leading opponents to congestion pricing at the federal level. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to discuss a meeting he attended over the weekend with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss the elimination of the “scam” that makes New York less affordable for many residents.
“We talked about a number of things,” Lawler recounted for host Larry Mendte, “but on the issue of congestion pricing, he agreed with us that it’s terrible, it’s destructive to the city, and that it’s got to go. And so, we’re going to work with his administration on how that can be addressed from the federal level. I remind everybody that the Biden administration had to approve it through the Federal Highway Administration, and so we’ll look to see how the Trump Administration can revoke those approvals through the Federal Highway Administration, and we’re also looking legislatively to see what we can do to ban congestion pricing.”
Lawler said dealing with Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA head Janno Lieber has essentially turned into a task on par with butting one’s head against a wall. “This system is horribly managed, the arrogance of its leadership obviously is disgraceful, and the governor is so inept and so incompetent in dealing with this, in addition to the crime issue that we see persists. She goes on the subway, takes selfies, says how great it is; meanwhile, a woman is burned alive that morning. The level of incompetence and arrogance is just remarkable to watch.”
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