Gateway funding battle could become albatross for N.J. Republicans in 2026 races
In theory, everyone in New Jersey politics agrees on the importance of the Gateway Tunnel, the enormous $16 billion project to build a new rail connection between New Jersey and Manhattan that has recently come under threat from President Donald Trump. The project will provide good jobs, faster commutes, and more reliability; that’s both the Democratic and Republican position.
But as Trump tries to halt the project’s funding, an action for which his administration has given an inconsistent set of justifications, a split is emerging: Democrats are calling the president out directly, while Republicans are proving very hesitant to do the same. As New Jersey gears up for the 2026 congressional midterm elections, and as voters look for who to blame for the project’s woes, that’s a divide that’s likely to come up quite a bit.
Most imminently, there’s the special election in the 11th congressional district, where voters – many of whom commute by train into New York – will head to the polls on April 16 to determine Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s successor. The Democratic-leaning district’s GOP nominee, Joe Hathaway, has been more willing to criticize Trump than some of his fellow Republicans, saying that Trump’s attempt to get New York’s Penn Station and Virginia’s Dulles Airport renamed after himself was a bad move.
“We need to be adults in the room and fund major projects that are critical for one of the most densely commuted areas in the county, and not let a project of this importance be used as a bargaining chip for something that is in my opinion completely irrelevant,” Hathaway said.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/gateway-funding-battle-could-become-albatross-for-n-j-republicans-in-2026-races/