RELEASE: Gottheimer Sounds Alarm on Funding Halt for Critical Gateway Train Tunnel

Above: Gottheimer delivers remarks at the Gateway Development Commission’s Board Meeting.

NEW YORK, NY — Today, January 27, 2026, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) spoke at the Gateway Development Commission’s Board Meeting in Lower Manhattan, sounding the alarm on the need to restore federal funding for the critical Gateway Project. Gottheimer urged President Trump to give the project the green light, restore the federal funding, and get the project done.

Gottheimer warned of devastating consequences for commuters, families, jobs, and the regional and national economy if the project is stalled due to withheld funding.

Gottheimer originally secured funding for the Gateway Project within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which he helped write, negotiate, pass, and get signed into law in 2021. The Gateway Project — which helps create more than 95,000 jobs — will add two new tunnels under the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York.

Speaking alongside Gateway Development Commission leadership, labor leaders, and elected officials, Gottheimer stressed that the Gateway Project — a bipartisan infrastructure priority already under construction — is at serious risk of running out of money, threatening thousands of good-paying jobs and the reliability of the entire Northeast Corridor.

“President Trump: I know you don’t want to derail our progress as a nation. This tunnel is 116 years old. If it collapses, America will blame you. If we fall behind and our economy here falters, American families and businesses of all sizes will blame you,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) at today’s Gateway Development Commission Board Meeting. “On the flip side, you have an opportunity to do something historic — to finish one of the greatest infrastructure projects in American history.”

Gottheimer continued, “This is what the art of the deal should be about. Let’s make the greatest deal of all time and keep this project moving — and make it the best tunnel America — and the world — has ever seen. There is nothing partisan about this. I know many of us — Democrats and Republicans — we all support this program — are ready to sit down and get this done, together. So, Mr. President, let’s do it. Give it the green light today!”

The Gateway Project is critical for upgrading and replacing the crumbling North River tunnels:

• The existing Hudson River rail tunnels are more than 116 years old.
• The tunnels carry more than 200,000 passengers every single day.
• 20% of the nation’s GDP runs through the current tunnels. 
• If one of the current tunnels were to shut down, it would cost the U.S. economy an estimated $100 million a day — more than $36 billion a year. 
• Construction of the Gateway Project will create 95,000 jobs and generate nearly $20 billion in economic activity.
• If funding is not restored, construction could stop as soon as February 6, putting more than 1,000 union workers out of a job.
• If funding is not restored, billions in taxpayer dollars are at risk of being wasted.

Watch Gottheimer’s remarks at today’s Gateway Development Commission Board Meeting here.

Below: Gottheimer attends the Gateway Development Commission’s Board Meeting.

Gottheimer’s full remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Thank you to the Gateway Development Commission’s Board and leadership team, the Port Authority, my colleagues, and the transportation and phenomenal labor leaders here today for the work you do for this critical project. Again, a big round of applause for our men and women of labor.

I want to be very direct about what we’re facing: this transportation crisis is a five-alarm fire. In just 10 days, on February 6, the money runs out, and shovels go down on the Gateway Project — I’d argue the most consequential infrastructure project right now in our country. A project that is critical not just for 200,000 people getting to work and school every day, the thousands of businesses that depend on it, and to the 1,000 hard-working men and women of labor who will lose their jobs, but for 20 percent of our nation’s GDP.

And the crazy thing about it is that it was approved and funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which I proudly helped write, negotiate, and pass into law – and it’s already being built. I’ve seen it with my own eyes at site after site. Five are up and running — boring machines are ready to go. Yet, for seemingly no apparent reason, the Trump Administration has stopped it in its tracks. I just don’t get it.

For too long, we kicked the can down the road while our nation’s bridges, roads, and tunnels continued to crumble, including the existing train tunnels that go under the Hudson, which are now more than 116 years old. Yes, they date back to when William Howard Taft was President, and every day they carry NJ Transit and Amtrak riders. They’ve been decimated by their age and by Superstorm Sandy, and they’re often shut down to put band aids on them. I’ve been down there — trust me, it’s a mess. If just one tunnel were to shut down, it would cost the U.S. economy an estimated $100 million a day — more than $36 billion a year. 

Gateway is not just a regional priority — it’s a national imperative. 

In the end, including those working now, Gateway will create more than 95,000 good-paying jobs — many of them good-paying union jobs — and support scores more through new businesses and investment in Jersey and New York. It’s a massive jobs and economic engine.

Gateway represents what finally fixing our infrastructure looks like in a commonsense, bipartisan way. But if we don’t inject the dollars that have already been appropriated by Congress back into this project, it will shut down. Who knows how long it will be delayed. But we know this: shutting down will cost us at least a billion dollars in taxpayer money. What a waste.

And I want to hand it to the Gateway leadership. In the last four months, because of the Administration’s random decision to stop paying their bills, the project has received zero dollars in new funding. 

Impressively, this team has managed to keep things on schedule, moving things around to make it work. But that’s about to come to an end. You can only squeeze so much out of rock. Again, if we stop now, we will have wasted more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars, and residents will be left with huge, half-finished pits in their backyards.

The bottom line is: You can’t have a first-rate state — like New Jersey — with second-class infrastructure. The Gateway Project is not optional. It is not a luxury. It is essential insurance against economic disruption, and a foundational investment in America’s future.

We have to finish what we started. We cannot let partisan politics get in the way of years of planning, bipartisan commitment, and construction progress. The stakes are too high, and the consequences too severe.

Canceling this train tunnel will kill jobs, crush our economy, and set us back as a nation.

President Trump: I know you don’t want to derail our progress as a nation. This tunnel is 116 years old. If it collapses, America will blame you. If we fall behind and our economy here falters, American families and businesses of all sizes will blame you.

On the flip side, you have an opportunity to do something historic — to finish one of the greatest infrastructure projects in American history. This is what makes America great. Please don’t blow it for some petty politics or because you’re pissed off at something. Don’t kill it, resurrect it. You’re a New York builder, you get it. Don’t blow a billion dollars and a 1,000 union jobs — and don’t stick it to 200,000 commuters and 20 percent of our nation’s GDP. Don’t send us into a regional recession. Don’t stick it to Jersey and New York families, many of whom voted for you. 

This is what the art of the deal should be about. Let’s make the greatest deal of all time and keep this project moving — and make it the best tunnel America – and the world – has ever seen. There is nothing partisan about this. I know many of us – Democrats and Republicans – we all support this program — are ready to sit down and get this done, together. So, Mr. President, let’s do it. Give it the green light today!

Thank you.

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