The Trump administration allegedly made it known to the Senate Democratic Leader and Senator for New York, Chuck Schumer, that stalled federal funding for a huge new rail tunnel project linking New York and New Jersey would be released if Dulles Airport and Penn Station are renamed after the President.
Schumer has accused Trump of withholding $6.88 billion in federal funding for the so-called Gateway tunnel project despite the conclusion of an administrative review clearing the path for work to get underway.
The proposed deal by the Trump administration has not gone unnoticed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has lambasted the President in his usual style.
Rail tunnel funds to be released if Dulles Airport and Penn Station are named after Trump
Citing three unnamed sources, Punchbowl News claims that President Trump agreed to release billions in federal funding for a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey on the condition that Washington Dulles Airport and Pennsylvania Station in midtown Manhattan are renamed in his honor.
Schumer is said to have rejected the deal, telling administration officials that “there was nothing to trade.”
“The president stopped the funding, and he can restart the funding with a snap of his fingers,” Schumer reportedly told the White House.
Trump administration stalls $6.88 billion in federal funding for nation’s “most critical rail tunnel’
The Gateway rail tunnel project was commissioned to add “urgently needed” capacity to the New York and New Jersey transportation networks.
The existing tunnels under the Hudson River are 115 years old and were badly damaged by flooding from Superstorm Sandy. With just one track in and one track out, any problems can cause big consequences.
More than 1,000 workers have already started work on the project at five sites in New York, New Jersey, and the Hudson River.
President Trump froze already agreed federal funding for the Gateway project in October 2025, citing the need for an administrative review. That review was quickly wrapped up, with the Department of Transportation concluding that no further action was required, Schumer says.
“All that is needed now is for the administration to reestablish the flow of already appropriated and obligated funds,” Schumer said last month.
“Failure to act in the coming days will force contractors to cease work, put workers out of jobs, and could permanently derail this nationally significant infrastructure project.”
Gavin Newsom mocks Trump in social media post
It’s probably no surprise that it didn’t take long for California Governor Gavin Newsom to mock Trump over the reports that he wants two of the most iconic transport hubs in the United States to be renamed in his honor.
Taking to X, the official Governor Newsom Press Office Account (created to match the Trump administration’s energy head-on) posted an AI-generated image with no further comment that showed a welcome sign that read: “Welcome to Washington Trump-Epstein International Airport.”
https://t.co/ucQyEULemk pic.twitter.com/00lmexfNO5
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) February 6, 2026
White House wants to rebuild Dulles Airport
Late last year, Trump announced that he wanted Washington Dulles Airport to be completely transformed after putting the airport on blast for having “fallen into a state of disrepair.”
Trump and his Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Dulles was no longer “grand enough for the capital of the United States of America.” The DOT asked the “best and brightest developers, architects, and engineers” to submit their ideas to transform Dulles into a “symbol of the might and prestige of the United States.”
One architectural firm that answered that call was Zaha Hadid Architects, named after the late award-winning architect who was involved in the design of Beijing’s ‘starfish’ inspired Daxing International Airport.
In renderings of its redesigned Dulles Airport, the architectural firm chose to call a new terminal complex the Donald J Trump Terminal.
