Overview

• At the July 16 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on the FY2026 budget, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Rep. Jerry Nadler sparred over the safety of New York’s subway system
• Nadler cited MTA statistics showing major subway crimes down 3% year-over-year and 8% since 2019 to assert that the system is safer
• Duffy disputed those figures, pointing to a more than 60% rise in felony assaults since 2019 and referencing a December 2024 arson killing on a subway train
• The two repeatedly accused each other of lying over their contrasting crime data interpretations, with Duffy insisting, “Don’t call me a liar here!”
• The exchange reignited debate over Manhattan’s $9 daily congestion charge, which Duffy denounced as punitive and Nadler defended as a standard toll policy