New York Blocks Trump’s Attempt to Put His Name on Penn Station

Trump Conditions Public Funds

Democrats Reject Proposal

Gateway Remains Frozen

Democratic lawmakers from New York rejected on Friday a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump related to infrastructure and federal funding.

The initiative proposed naming Washington Dulles International Airport and New York’s Penn Station after the president.

In exchange, the White House would unblock federal funds allocated to the Gateway rail project, a key initiative for the northeastern region of the country.

Lawmakers deemed the proposal unacceptable, arguing that the names of public spaces should not be part of budget negotiations.

New York Halts Trump Attempt Linked to Federal Funds

Donald Trump has no authority to hold up billions of dollars for infrastructure funding—much less hold it up because of his narcissistic obsession with naming things after himself. Congress appropriated that money and the President must release it. And he should get help on that… pic.twitter.com/OIWy5vHCfE

— Jamie Raskin (@jamie_raskin) February 6, 2026

According to multiple media reports, officials from the Trump administration conveyed the Penn Station naming proposal to Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader.

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Schumer, who also represents New York, rejected the offer, according to sources cited by Politico.

“There is nothing to negotiate,” a person close to the senator told the outlet.

The same source said the president could resume funding “with the snap of his fingers.”

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called the proposal “ridiculous” in an official statement.

“These names are not part of any negotiation, nor is the dignity of New Yorkers,” she said.

Gillibrand noted that the proposal comes amid economic pressure on state residents.

According to the senator, New Yorkers are already facing difficulties stemming from the high tariffs promoted by Trump, a backdrop that intensifies the Trump Penn Station naming controversy.

A Proposal That Raised Political Alarms

Trump told Chuck Schumer he’d release billions for the Gateway Project on one condition: rename Penn Station and Dulles Airport after him.

Schumer rejected it immediately.
—CNN pic.twitter.com/KVlq646x7k

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 6, 2026

Gillibrand accused the president of prioritizing his personal image over union workers and infrastructure projects.

“I demand that the president put people first and unfreeze this project,” the lawmaker stated.

She added that the Trump administration is holding public funds and several projects hostage for the president’s personal benefit.

Representative Jerry Nadler, also a Democrat from New York, voiced similar criticism.

Nadler accused Trump of trying to “expand his extortion racket” while withholding critical public funds.

“Donald Trump’s legacy will not be defined by where he stamped his name,” Nadler wrote in a post on X.

According to the lawmaker, that legacy will be shaped by the negative impact on the country’s most important infrastructure project.

Representative Ritchie Torres described the president as “pathologically petty.”

Torres said it “makes no sense to comply with his ever-changing demands.”

Accusations of Pressure and Abuse of Power

The conflict follows the decision by the Department of Transportation to freeze $18 billion in October.

The funds directly affect the Gateway project and other strategic infrastructure plans.

Gateway includes the construction of a new tunnel under the Hudson River.

It also involves modernizing existing infrastructure between New York and New Jersey.

The project’s goal is to improve rail connectivity between the two states.

Amid the lack of progress, New York and New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Tuesday.

The lawsuit seeks to force the restoration of the frozen federal funds.

The episode adds to other symbolic changes promoted by Trump during his term.

Over the past year, the president renamed the Institute of Peace after himself.

He also added his surname to what is now called the Trump–Kennedy Center.

For New York lawmakers, these precedents reinforce concerns about the political use of public infrastructure, further fueling the Trump Penn Station naming controversy.