White House Budget Has No Gateway Tunnel Funding—Booker Suggests Naming The Tunnel For Trump

photo via Gov Cuomo’s flicker

President Trump’s 2020 budget has no funding for the Gateway Tunnel and Deputy Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Rosen said New York and New Jersey should pay for the tunnel, according to AMNY:

“Those transit projects are local responsibilities, and elected officials from New York and New Jersey are the ones accountable for them,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Jeffrey Rosen on Monday, during a budget briefing call with reporters.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker responded by suggesting that the tunnel be named after Trump, according to the NY DailyNews:

“Whatever it takes, we’ll name this the Trump Tunnel if necessary,” said Booker. “I don’t care, this is not about ego.”

Trump doesn’t want his name on the tunnel. The Hudson River is too dirty to see an underwater Trump logo.

Whatever it takes, Senator? Offer the President funding for a secure southern border. Co-sponsor a bill, with Senators Menendez, Schumer and Gillibrand to build the wall AND the Gateway Tunnel. Get Congressman Pallone to push the bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee and Speaker Pelosi to put it to a vote in the House. It will pass and President Trump will sign it.

Congressman Chris Smith has a great idea! Smith suggests, wisely, that the States of Maryland Pennsylvania and Connecticut chip in the fund the tunnell:

“Gateway funding is a necessity for people of my district, not a luxury. Both our regional and U.S. national economies would be devastated should a disaster befall either of the tunnel tubes—already in critical need of repairs.

“New Jersey and New York are already working together to help fund Gateway, but all the East Coast—whether it be Maryland or Pennsylvania or Connecticut—could and should pitch in. We need to and will push on every lever to get this done.”

Maryland, Pennsylvania and Connecticut would greatly benefit from the new tunnel and would be devastated economically if the current 110 year old tunnel that is still damaged from Superstorm Sandy fails. But there is a better chance of getting Trump to fund the tunnel than getting regional State funding for the tunnel before the federal budget is passed.

Give Trump the his wall, he’ll give Schumer and Booker the tunnel. Make the deal and name the tunnel after Chris Christie. If it wasn’t for Christie killing the ARC tunnell in 2010, Trump would not have this bargaining chip.