New York City in brief

The Gateway Development Commission has sued the Trump administration for freezing nearly $200 million in federal funding for a $16 billion rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River, arguing the abrupt hold could halt work in New York and New Jersey by week’s end and idle 11,000 workers. While officials trade legal barbs over contract terms and disadvantaged business policies, commuters may want to inspect their swim trunks.

The Gateway Development Commission has sued the Trump administration over its decision to freeze federal funding for a $16 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River, warning construction may halt within days if funds remain locked. The long-delayed project is vital to Northeast Corridor transit, though Washington’s purse strings seem tightly knotted; New Yorkers may find their future rides less “express” and more “standstill,” at least for now.

Work on the $16 billion Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey may grind to a halt next week, as President Trump withholds federal funds unless Congress bankrolls his immigration crackdown. Union leaders, whose traditionally Democratic workers increasingly backed Trump, rue the irony of losing thousands of local jobs to a policy meant to protect them—proof that the road to infrastructure is seldom straight, even when it's a tunnel.

President Donald Trump exhorted House lawmakers to end a partial government shutdown that has idled the Pentagon, Homeland Security, and others since Saturday, but progress remains trapped in the Washington abacus. Speaker Mike Johnson faces mutiny from his own party while Democrats, led by Hakeem Jeffries, demand tighter immigration oversight before lending support—a gridlock suggesting the only quick thing here may be Congressional blame-shifting.

Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the Senate’s stopgap funding bill—no amendments, no questions asked—insisting a swift reopening of government was needed to avert further harm. The temporary measure covers agencies like the Department of Homeland Security until February 13th, but faces resistance from both sides; with grumbling Republicans and reluctant Democrats, Washington seems set on perfecting brinkmanship rather than paychecks, at least for now.