Overview

• DOJ lawyers mistakenly filed an internal memo admitting significant weaknesses in Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s legal arguments to end NYC’s congestion pricing program.
• The memo, now sealed, stated it was 'very unlikely' that Judge Lewis Liman or higher courts would uphold the federal government's current rationale for rescinding approval.
• The document suggested shifting the legal strategy to argue for termination under Office of Management and Budget rules as a 'matter of changed agency priorities.'
• The Department of Transportation replaced the Southern District of New York attorneys on the case, accusing them of 'legal malpractice' and questioning their competence or intent.
• Governor Kathy Hochul has reaffirmed that the congestion pricing tolls, which fund critical transit infrastructure, will remain in place unless ordered otherwise by the court.