The Trump administration is threatening to withhold federal funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the agency that operates the New York City subway, unless it provides detailed information on transit crime and its plans for mitigation, Bloomberg reports.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to MTA CEO Janno Lieber on Tuesday, demanding data on fare evasion, criminal activity, mitigation efforts, and funding priorities. The MTA has been given a deadline of March 31st to comply with the request.
“The American people expect their subways to be places where they can come in and out of cities and do it safely,” Duffy said in a Fox News interview on Wednesday. “If they don’t get on board to change their ways, we’re pulling cash.”
The MTA has responded, stating it is “happy” to discuss its efforts with Secretary Duffy. John J. McCarthy, the MTA’s policy and external relations chief, highlighted the agency’s progress in combating crime.
“The good news is numbers are moving in the right direction,” McCarthy said in a statement.
He noted that crime is down 40% compared to 2020, and that there are fewer daily major crimes in transit this year than in any non-pandemic year on record.
This latest move by the Trump administration is part of a pattern of intervention in local issues. The White House is already attempting to block New York’s congestion pricing program, designed to raise $15 billion for MTA infrastructure projects, leading to a lawsuit filed by the MTA. The administration has also launched a review of California’s high-speed rail project and broadly threatened federal funding for sanctuary cities.
The move also comes after New York Governor Kathy Hochul has emphasized reducing transit crime as a key priority. She recently announced the deployment of an additional 250 National Guard members to the subway system, bringing the total to 1,000, supplementing an increased presence from the New York City Police Department.
The MTA has also seen improvements in fare evasion, with approximately 10% of subway riders skipping fares at the end of 2024, down from 14% in June, according to the agency’s data.
