The Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that it had reassigned the group of prosecutors who recently questioned the legality of the agency’s decision to put an end to New York’s congestion pricing plan. The move came after a misstep in which these concerns were unintentionally exposed in a court filing.
A spokesperson for the DOT confirmed that the original legal team from the Southern District of New York had been replaced by attorneys from the Justice Department’s Civil Division. The spokesperson harshly criticized the earlier legal team for what she described as a serious breach in handling sensitive information related to the tolling initiative.
“Are SDNY lawyers on this case incompetent or was this their attempt to RESIST? At the very least, it’s legal malpractice,” said spokeswoman Halee Dobbins. “It’s sad to see a premier legal organization continue to fall into such disgrace.”
She went on to dismiss the leaked memo’s assessment, framing the congestion toll plan as an ill-conceived initiative approved without proper scrutiny after Donald Trump won the presidency.
“SDNY’s memo doesn’t represent reality. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing war against the working class was hastily approved by the Biden Administration after Donald Trump was elected,” she added.
Dobbins contended that the plan unfairly penalizes drivers by closing off access to roads that taxpayers have already funded, and stressed that the lack of a free driving option renders the policy not only unjust but unlawful. She hinted that the DOT might consider cutting off funding for New York state infrastructure if the policy remains in place.
“Taxpayers already financed the highways that Hochul is now shutting down to the driving public and there is no free alternative. This is unprecedented and illegal. If New York doesn’t shut it down, the Department of Transportation is considering halting projects and funding for the state.”
In response to the controversy, SDNY spokesperson Nicholas Biase explained that the filing in question was submitted in error and that there was no intention to publicize internal evaluations.
Biase said the filing “was a completely honest error and was not intentional in any way.”
The internal 11-page document, submitted late Wednesday evening and quickly removed, expressed skepticism that the government would prevail in court, citing historical precedent for judges granting local authorities leeway to test new economic and societal policies.
“We have been unable to identify a compelling legal argument to support this position,” they wrote, referencing judicial tolerance for “novel social and economic experiments.”
Still, the memo floated other potential legal arguments — such as claiming a shift in priorities at the Office of Management and Budget or pointing to a lack of a toll-free route — but cast doubt on their strength.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy might assert that the MTA’s motivations are rooted more in revenue generation than traffic relief, or that the structure of the plan itself conflicts with federal requirements by not providing an untolled option for drivers.
But the attorneys noted: “Neither of these reasons … is likely to convince the court.”
Despite the legal cloud, Secretary Duffy had previously threatened Governor Hochul with serious repercussions, including cutting off billions in federal funding for transportation infrastructure, unless she stepped away from the tolling program.
On Thursday, Hochul’s office showed no signs of backing down. Her spokesman, Avi Small, stated that enforcement technology for congestion pricing was still active, even after the governor failed to meet a second deadline this week to suspend toll collections.
“The cameras are staying on,” said Hochul’s spokesman Avi Small.
Yet the legal filing also pushed back against Hochul’s insistence on the program’s permanence, noting that the agreement between the MTA and the Trump administration lacks clear exit clauses.
The memo added that any significant change in federal policy could warrant a new environmental review, potentially delaying any definitive ruling on the program’s future.
The Biden administration had signed off on the congestion pricing plan as part of a broader DOT trial initiative, giving it federal endorsement — at least for the time being.

{Matzav.com}