The Trump administration on Thursday agreed to release federal funding to go toward the New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) project to extend the Second Avenue subway following a lawsuit to restore funding for the extension.
A Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesperson told The Hill that President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy agreed to a deal to ensure funds "will not fund unconstitutional DEI initiatives, including illegal race- and sex-based contracts which historically cause project costs to balloon."
"This has always been about securing the best deal for the American taxpayer and ensuring their dollars are spent efficiently and fairly," the spokesperson said in a statement.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) praised the outcome after the legal fight.
"We took the Trump Administration to court after they illegally froze funding for the Second Avenue Subway," she wrote in a post on the social platform X. "Today, they backed down. The freeze is over. For East Harlem and every New Yorker who relies on our subways, release our money immediately."
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the president "lost. Again."
"The Second Avenue Subway is back on track and will be delivering expanded service to New York commuters from East Harlem, Uptown, the Bronx, and beyond - whether Trump likes it or not," he wrote on X.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said in October that roughly $18 billion in funding for New York City was "put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles." He later specified that this affected funding toward the Hudson Tunnel project connecting New Jersey and New York, and the Second Avenue subway.
The MTA sued the administration to unfreeze the funding, telling the administration that it complied with the DOT's policy changes. New York state agencies require part of construction contracts to go toward minority- and women-owned businesses, The Gothamist reported. But the administration's crackdown on DEI policies led to funding freezes across the country unless state agencies made concessions.
The state agency told the administration that it complied with the new federal rules after a letter to MTA Chair Janno Lieber Thursday stated that the DOT "uncovered troubling information" about those contracts siphoning off funds toward businesses, the outlet reported.
The MTA's plan takes an original proposal to extend Second Avenue from the 1920s and will stretch the Q into East Harlem with three new trains stations in the neighborhood, The Gothamist wrote. The service is scheduled to open for service in 2032.