White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has contradicted Donald Trump’s assertion that Senator Chuck Schumer suggested renaming New York’s Penn Station after the president. Asked why Trump wanted to change the station’s name, Leavitt said on Tuesday: “It was something the president floated in his conversation with Chuck Schumer … Why not?”
Her remarks came after Trump claimed on Friday that Schumer had proposed renaming both Penn Station and Virginia’s Dulles International Airport after him. “He suggested that to me,” Trump told reporters. Schumer swiftly denied the claim, posting online: “Absolute lie. He knows it. Everyone knows it.”
The dispute arises amid a freeze on $200 million in federal funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project, which would connect New York and New Jersey. Trump halted the funds in October despite congressional approval. Work has stalled, and the Gateway Development Commission sued the administration, winning a court order last Friday to release the money.
However, the Department for Transport has since sought a temporary restraining order while it appeals, arguing there is no way to recover the funds if paid. A hearing is set for Wednesday. The administration has not given a reason for the freeze, blaming Democrats for failing to negotiate.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill criticised the delays, saying: “I took the president to court on Friday, and I won … Here we are, all this equipment waiting to be put to work … because the president of the United States cares more about politics than he does about working men and women.” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York also condemned the reported naming deal, demanding Trump “put people first”.
