New York Governor Kathy Hochul paused congestion pricing for five months because she was scared it would cost Democrats elections.
The moment Trump won the White House, she flipped and turned it back on.
Now she's on stage celebrating the tax – and what she actually said out loud is something else.
The Shameless Flip That Explains Everything
In June 2024, Hochul killed congestion pricing with five weeks to go before launch.
She called it unaffordable.
She said working-class New Yorkers couldn't handle another financial burden.
Elected Democrats from Queens to Staten Island cheered her on.
State Senator Monica Martinez praised her for stopping a toll that would "drive residents, businesses, and workers out of the city."
Assemblymember David Weprin – a Democrat – called it "massive financial burdens on everyday New Yorkers."
They were right.
And Hochul agreed with them.
Then Trump won.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/2074886240382369814?s=20
Nine days after Election Day 2024, Hochul reversed herself and relaunched congestion pricing at $9.
That $9 toll costs a daily commuter roughly $2,300 a year.
The same governor who killed the $15 toll as unaffordable decided a $9 toll was suddenly fine – right after the election made it politically safe to do so.
New York Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said it plainly: "Her decision to pause enactment of this plan until Election Day was safely in her rearview mirror further proves her phony 'pause' was done to protect vulnerable Democratic candidates, not overburdened New Yorkers."
He was right.
Now She's Bragging About It
This week, Hochul made it official.
"We will continue to stand up to the Trump administration and say, 'That ain't going anywhere, Mr. President! We are keeping our congestion pricing!'" she told a crowd.
Forget working-class New Yorkers.
Forget the commuters shelling out $2,300 a year for the privilege of driving into their own city.
The toll that was too expensive in June 2024 is now a trophy to wave at Donald Trump.
After Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy formally demanded the program be shut down, Hochul's office fired back: "Appealing congestion pricing once again is just a waste of everyone's time. Sean Duffy can keep trying."
She's not protecting New Yorkers.
She's protecting her anti-Trump brand.
Riding a Dangerous System Into a Political Fight
While Hochul fights for a toll nobody asked her to revive, the subway system collecting that revenue had three murders in the first months of 2026 – compared to zero at the same point last year.
Transit robberies are up 15 percent year to date.
New Yorkers riding those trains are getting pushed onto tracks and set on fire while their governor holds press conferences celebrating how much she hates Trump.
That's not governing.
That's using New Yorkers as props in a political performance she's putting on for the national media.
This Is Who Democrats Are Now
Hochul told supporters flat out: she's keeping congestion pricing alive because Trump wants it gone.
Write that down, because it's coming to your city next.
https://twitter.com/sgtnewsnetwork/status/2075163306709418178?s=20
Democrats in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia are watching this playbook in real time.
Find whatever Trump opposes.
Defend it loudly.
Call it resistance.
Make your voters pay for it and dare them to complain.
Hochul just showed every Democrat-run city in America exactly how to turn a tax on working people into a campaign commercial.
A $9 daily toll on commuters.
A policy Hochul herself killed as unaffordable.
Revived after an election, kept alive as a weapon in a fight with the federal government, and now celebrated at rallies as a win for "the people."
The people paying $2,300 a year for this particular win probably disagree.
Sources:
- Amy Curtis, "Hochul Brags About Taxing New Yorkers to Stick It to Trump," Townhall, July 9, 2026.
- Ross O'Keefe, "Hochul Makes Last-Ditch Congestion Pricing Bid to Trump With 'Nice Colors' and 'Big Words,'" Washington Examiner, February 26, 2025.
- Fox 5 NY, "Trump Admin Refuses to Give Up Congestion Pricing Fight, Seeks to Overturn Previous Ruling," FOX 5 NY, May 2026.
- New York State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, "Senate Republicans Blast Governor Hochul's Plan to Revive Congestion Pricing," NYSenate.gov, November 14, 2024.
- Rebecca C. Lewis, "Hochul Did Not Change Many Hearts and Minds with Lower Congestion Pricing Toll," City & State New York, November 14, 2024.
- ABC7 New York, "NYPD Crime Statistics Show Transit Felonies and Assaults Are Down, Robberies Are Up as Patrols Increase," ABC7 NY, 2026.
- Governor Kathy Hochul, "What They Are Saying: Governor Hochul Announces Pause on Congestion Pricing," Governor.NY.gov, June 5, 2024.
