Senator Gillibrand Statement On Trump Holding Gateway Funding Hostage In Exchange For Naming Rights To Dulles & Penn Station

Feb 5, 2026
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on aPunchbowl reportthat the president of the United States will release federal funds that he is withholding for the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project in exchange for the renaming of Washington Dulles International Airport and Penn Station in New York after himself. Yes, really:
“No. This is ridiculous. These naming rights aren’t tradable as part of any negotiations, and neither is the dignity of New Yorkers. At a time when New Yorkers are already being crushed by high costs under the Trump tariffs, the president continues to put his own narcissism over the good-paying union jobs this project provides and the extraordinary economic impact the Gateway tunnel will bring.
“I demand that the president put people first and unfreeze this project and all the others his administration has been holding hostage for his personal gain.”
###