In February 2025, Trump pulled federal funding for one of America’s most significant construction projects to date. While $16 billion hung in the balance, the president chose to withhold funds approved under former President Joe Biden. It’s been almost a year since operations began to shut down, and now the Trump team has proposed reinstating funding for New York City’s Hudson train tunnels.
An inside source, reported by Punchbowl News, claims the power to restart funding rests solely with the president. To do this, though, the proposed offer from the president’s team comes with a cost. If democrats agree to rename Penn Station after Trump, his team says, the funding will resume. Given the state of Penn Station, NYC commuters were heavily dependent on the Gateway Tunnel project to streamline their travel. Many have their own opinions on the new request, while others want the work done at any cost.
New Yorkers Respond to Penn Station Renaming
“As a New Yorker, I’m not sure having Penn Station named after him is the flex he thinks it is,” one local says on Reddit. “There’s absolutely zero ambiguity and no other way to describe this situation. It’s the president putting himself, his ego, above the people these projects affect,” another replies. One Redditor joked about the president going after JFK Airport next, while another says, “Naming after someone while they are still alive is in poor taste. This is in disgusting taste.”
Some sided with the notion that it’s easier to just give in to the president’s demands. “Honestly, I think we should give in to his renaming demands, like for the Trump-Kennedy center. The next democratic president is just going to change it back, and I think the tacky self-promotional nature hurts his image (though maybe I’m giving the public too much credit). But I think American culture is reflexively opposed to… how do I say this civilly… Trump’s “Banana Republic dictator” aesthetic, with gold everything, the Don Colossus statue, the east-wing ballroom, and naming everything after himself,” one Redditor says.
