Hochul Fires Back After Trump's 'King' Remark

After his administration rescinded federal approval of New York City's congestion pricing plan, President Trump didn't hold back on Truth Social. "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD," he declared in a post Wednesday afternoon. "Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!" White House officials ran with the "king" part of the remark, with the official White House account on X posting an illustration of Trump wearing a crown, the Hill reports. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul fired back with a statement saying, "We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king."

The Metropolitan Transit Authority, which planned to improve the transit system with revenue from the first-in-the-nation plan, "has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program," Hochul said in a statement posted on X. "We'll see you in court."

"New York hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years. And we sure as hell are not going to start now," the Democratic governor said at a press conference, per amNY. "We're in fight mode within seconds of us getting this notification. Our MTA was prepared; we knew this could come," she said. NBC New York reports that the head of the MTA and the governor's legal counsel say the tolls will remain in place unless a federal judge issues an order. (More congestion pricing stories.)